Climax and Resolution
Marc
was still upset with his father about his future betrothal to Cornelia
Africana. He did not want to marry the senator’s daughter even after Julia had
run away. Marc waited months before he heard from Julia until he came home one
day to find a letter. The letter was addressed “Dearest Marcus” and Marc knew
it could only be from her. So he scrambled to open it and in the letter she
asked why he had not returned her other letters. Marc did not understand
because he never received any letters before this one.
As soon as his father walked in the door Marc questioned
whether his mother or father had hid the letters to prevent him from having
contact with Julia. Marc’s eyes filled with tears when he heard that his
parents had been withholding Julia’s letters from him for months. They
explained to him that if he wanted to carry on the family name and be a
successful senator one day that he would have to cut ties with Julia entirely.
This left Marc with a big decision to make about his future.
Marc
had never cared about money and the uppity life of a senator, however, he knew
that his family was very important to him and did not want to disrespect his
betrothal. He would give his father his answer at sunrise the next morning.
As
Marc’s father walked toward his room he feared that Marc would not be there. He
knew that after their conversation the night before he was very upset and his
heart was broken. Marc wanted to please his family and the woman he loved but
knew he could not do either. His life with Julia would never be legal by the
Roman state and his family would never accept her. He did not want to live to
see his wedding with Cornelia. Marc was aware that suicide was not looked down
upon by the Roman people but could not answer whether he should leave it to
fate to decide how his and Julia’s life would be together or should he take
destiny into his own hands?
When his father opened the door
Marc did not wake. He had freed himself from the obligations of his family and
the Roman state and went to a place where no judgment other than God’s could be
passed.
