Some argue that the purpose of Virginia's death is to highlight Virginius's ineptitude as a father. Farber states that Virginius's ultimatum to his daughter would not have been seen as the proper action for a father to take: "it turns out, audiences of the story other than the Host tend to agree, that this is bad governance." However, Farber also argues in the other direction saying that "the responsibility does not lie entirely with Virginius: Virginia embraces her father's logic as well as his power and, voicing both, consents to her own death."