Concetta just might end up like Miss Havisham in Great Expectations, just not in a wedding dress.
As Tancredi and Angelica explored the palace, it seemed unreal—just how big was the palace? It felt like they were trapped in some space/time warp where the first door led to infinite doors.
Oooh you're on point with your Miss Havishman idea, you'll see later why. And the exploring of the palace reminded me of a much tamer but similar situation in Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, where the children find a bunch of disused rooms filled of interesting treasure, that always fascinated me as a kid.
I immediately thought of Miss Havisham too! And although she’s often thought of as a tragic and rather ridiculous figure, she’s also incredibly clever and cruel - words that could possibly also describe a future Concetta?
It seems to me that Sedara and Fabrizio are mutually corrupting each other!
This: 'When he [Don Calogero] got to know Don Fabrizio better he found there again the pliability and incapacity for self-defence that were characteristic of his imaginary sheep-noble, but also a strength of attraction different in tone, but similar in intensity, to young Falconeri's; he also found a certain energy with a tendency towards abstraction, a disposition to seek a shape for life from within himself and not in what he could wrest from others.'
A beautiful and sophisticated portrait of Fabrizio. Just fantastic writing.
(I was falling a bit behind in the reading Ellie but I'm trying to catch up! Another great post - thank you!)
I adore that passage too, Lampedusa has such a sophisticated way with words. And DO NOT APOLOGIZE, oh my god, take all the time you need and enjoy books! I really need to write that down on my manifesto or something ❤️❤️❤️
(Thank you Ellie! Of course, with your permission, I then immediately fell behind again! But I've now finished the book and loved it. Looking forward to your final posts.)
I’ve just been going over this week’s reading again. I think this has been my favourite week so far. Some of the language is spine-tingly good. The ‘staircase with steps of smooth, crumbling slate’ (I can feel them crunch and shift under my feet), and the music box with its ‘cylinder of bristling copper, and the little tongues of raised steel’ (how to make a music box sound somehow erotic!). And as for the creeping, unsettling description of the sadist’s room….. shiver. 😨
I just adore well-written books. You can do incredible things with language, so why limit ourselves? I have no patience for laconic authors 😄 no, I'm kidding, I do, but I prefer some lyricism in my fiction. If you're curious to hear what the music box was playing, it's the Carnival of Venice by Paganini
I sneaked it in at the last second, glad you approve! It's the perfect work of art for this chapter, because as religious as it is, Teresa there is certainly having a Moment 😉
No problem with the late update, gave me a chance to catch up, and you need to live your life too. I don’t understand Concetta’s mother, Stella Maria, does she not want a good match for her daughter? Does she not understand their diminished circumstances? Confusing. When I was in Italy in my 20s my family couldn’t understand how I would find a husband if I didn’t cook or clean, I just laughed and said who’s looking for a husband? They were confused. This was the 1990s. I worked and lived by myself in NYC.
The way writers in the 1960s describe young, virginal adolescent girls it’s no wonder women were demanding equal rights and liberties. I am ever grateful for those who came before me (not so much for American women of today, oy).
Stella lives in her own world I think, she's still hung up on the Salinas' former glory and unlike her husband doesn't understand that things have changed.
Oh yeah, sexism in the 60s used to be bad, and I think Catholicism in Italy added an even worse flavor to it. I remember my grandma telling my sister to never ever ever ever let her future husband see period stains. Actually, husbands were not supposed to know you were on your period, ever. Only recently I found out that my grandma was a victim of severe domestic violence, it was such commonplace back then for a husband to beat up his wife that she never thought of complaining.
Concetta just might end up like Miss Havisham in Great Expectations, just not in a wedding dress.
As Tancredi and Angelica explored the palace, it seemed unreal—just how big was the palace? It felt like they were trapped in some space/time warp where the first door led to infinite doors.
Oooh you're on point with your Miss Havishman idea, you'll see later why. And the exploring of the palace reminded me of a much tamer but similar situation in Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, where the children find a bunch of disused rooms filled of interesting treasure, that always fascinated me as a kid.
I immediately thought of Miss Havisham too! And although she’s often thought of as a tragic and rather ridiculous figure, she’s also incredibly clever and cruel - words that could possibly also describe a future Concetta?
It seems to me that Sedara and Fabrizio are mutually corrupting each other!
This: 'When he [Don Calogero] got to know Don Fabrizio better he found there again the pliability and incapacity for self-defence that were characteristic of his imaginary sheep-noble, but also a strength of attraction different in tone, but similar in intensity, to young Falconeri's; he also found a certain energy with a tendency towards abstraction, a disposition to seek a shape for life from within himself and not in what he could wrest from others.'
A beautiful and sophisticated portrait of Fabrizio. Just fantastic writing.
(I was falling a bit behind in the reading Ellie but I'm trying to catch up! Another great post - thank you!)
I adore that passage too, Lampedusa has such a sophisticated way with words. And DO NOT APOLOGIZE, oh my god, take all the time you need and enjoy books! I really need to write that down on my manifesto or something ❤️❤️❤️
(Thank you Ellie! Of course, with your permission, I then immediately fell behind again! But I've now finished the book and loved it. Looking forward to your final posts.)
I’ve just been going over this week’s reading again. I think this has been my favourite week so far. Some of the language is spine-tingly good. The ‘staircase with steps of smooth, crumbling slate’ (I can feel them crunch and shift under my feet), and the music box with its ‘cylinder of bristling copper, and the little tongues of raised steel’ (how to make a music box sound somehow erotic!). And as for the creeping, unsettling description of the sadist’s room….. shiver. 😨
I just adore well-written books. You can do incredible things with language, so why limit ourselves? I have no patience for laconic authors 😄 no, I'm kidding, I do, but I prefer some lyricism in my fiction. If you're curious to hear what the music box was playing, it's the Carnival of Venice by Paganini
I immediately asked Spotify to play it and was listening as I read the rest of the chapter!
Thank you for posting The Ecstasy of St Theresa. Any reason to look again at that astonishing work is a good reason!
I sneaked it in at the last second, glad you approve! It's the perfect work of art for this chapter, because as religious as it is, Teresa there is certainly having a Moment 😉
She certainly is! 😂
No problem with the late update, gave me a chance to catch up, and you need to live your life too. I don’t understand Concetta’s mother, Stella Maria, does she not want a good match for her daughter? Does she not understand their diminished circumstances? Confusing. When I was in Italy in my 20s my family couldn’t understand how I would find a husband if I didn’t cook or clean, I just laughed and said who’s looking for a husband? They were confused. This was the 1990s. I worked and lived by myself in NYC.
The way writers in the 1960s describe young, virginal adolescent girls it’s no wonder women were demanding equal rights and liberties. I am ever grateful for those who came before me (not so much for American women of today, oy).
Stella lives in her own world I think, she's still hung up on the Salinas' former glory and unlike her husband doesn't understand that things have changed.
Oh yeah, sexism in the 60s used to be bad, and I think Catholicism in Italy added an even worse flavor to it. I remember my grandma telling my sister to never ever ever ever let her future husband see period stains. Actually, husbands were not supposed to know you were on your period, ever. Only recently I found out that my grandma was a victim of severe domestic violence, it was such commonplace back then for a husband to beat up his wife that she never thought of complaining.
I was at the University of New Mexico in 1993 and a girl from Texas was there mainly to find a husband! I couldn’t believe it.
So sad to hear stories like your grandma. They were very strong women with few opportunities.
Growing up in the 1950’s and 1960’s, my mother always told me that “A woman goes to college so she isn’t boring to her husband.” Oh good grief.
That is infuriating, oh my God.