'I despise you and you disgust me' can be the line that summarizes Emilia's attitude, noticed through Riccardo's eyes, but getying to the last pages of the novel, can we really trust his words and emotions. In fact, can we trust the dangerous mind and desires of a beautiful woman?
We leave Riccardo mourning Emilia's death but still unable to discover what was really hidden behind his wife's contempt. Was she really cheating on him or it was only his mind looking for excuses for his inferiority? Was it an unhappy misunderstanding that lead to tragedy or Penelope truly stopped loving Ulysses?
'Contempt preceded by a long way any justification of it, either real or imaginary, that I might have provided by my behavior.'
2 comments:
I think Emilia stopped loving Riccardo when she discovered he could not, or rather would not, protect her. Despite her begging him outright, when they were en route to Capri and she didn't want to ride any more with Battista, he never seemed to take her side. He was obsessed with her, yes, but unable to put her above himself. To me, it was his selfishness and timidity that was their undoing.
I did not sense his timidity, rather his fear of not being loved. You definitely have to see the movie, I found him different from the way it was portrayed in the book...
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