How do you expect us to keep the proper APS pace when you drop little hints like the nun’s story is coming up ? JK , this has really been a great reading experience especially under your lead.
Agreed, such a terrific and textured description of our nun. However, now I can’t get Sophia Loren out of my head.
Very different circumstances but The Godfather’s Michael Corleone came to mind when reading of Lucia’s “secret departure from her village to escape from terrible dangers”, her need “for some time …of a refuge where she can live without fear of recognition, and where no one will dare to molest her.”
Corleone secretly departed from New York to go into hiding in Sicily to escape from retribution for gunning down a rival mobster and a police captain. When Michael was eventually discovered, his wife was killed in a car bombing intended for him. I hope that Agnese and Lucia have a better experience (although I am worried for them).
"'But her family goes way back, and the blood in their veins blue. ..That's why they call her the Signora, to show that she's a noble." Interesting parallelism - that Signora and Fra Cristoforo both left moneyed families to follow their religious vocations.
I was also thinking about how these two people of the cloth seem alike in how they are different (from every other character in the novel). They are the filled contradiction and complexity and perhaps are therefore more relatable to modern readers.
In addition to the formidable nun (with her "movements too resolute for a woman"! and the contrast of her blush of indignation to Lucia's blushes of modesty), I also loved the narrator's subtly proud intrusion on authorial discretion (and in-) at the beginning of the chapter. In the scene itself there are so many subtle turns from moment to moment -- toward the end, e.g., the guardian winking to let Lucia know "that the time had come to step out of her shell and rescue her poor mother" -- how every one of these interactions adds to the construction of all the characters -- technical effects that are really impressive.
The eccentric worldly-wise nun with a complicated past who's a practical force for good. A trope that never gets stale. See Infinite Jest. This must have one one of its earliest appearances.
In the lead up to the nun, two separate characters don’t accept Renzo’s tip. They, for whatever reason, prefer a “higher” reward. What a different world then and now. I’m curious whether the path is being laid in a certain fashion to prime us to think of the nun as the culminating deflector of material rewards.
Those nuns and padres of the 16th century often had reasons for being where there were for reasons that had little to do with beliefs in higher powers. Intrigues. Politics. Family debts and/or honor. And often something having to do with money. (I keep thinking of the much less cerebral Medici series on Netflix!) Wealthy offspring were often sent away to monasteries for political gain.
Thanks for sharing the Sofia Loren picture.
How do you expect us to keep the proper APS pace when you drop little hints like the nun’s story is coming up ? JK , this has really been a great reading experience especially under your lead.
Amen!
Agreed, such a terrific and textured description of our nun. However, now I can’t get Sophia Loren out of my head.
Very different circumstances but The Godfather’s Michael Corleone came to mind when reading of Lucia’s “secret departure from her village to escape from terrible dangers”, her need “for some time …of a refuge where she can live without fear of recognition, and where no one will dare to molest her.”
Corleone secretly departed from New York to go into hiding in Sicily to escape from retribution for gunning down a rival mobster and a police captain. When Michael was eventually discovered, his wife was killed in a car bombing intended for him. I hope that Agnese and Lucia have a better experience (although I am worried for them).
I did think of the Godfather once, but not at this point.
Yes, I loved this nun almost instantly and precisely for these moments you quoted.
"'But her family goes way back, and the blood in their veins blue. ..That's why they call her the Signora, to show that she's a noble." Interesting parallelism - that Signora and Fra Cristoforo both left moneyed families to follow their religious vocations.
I was also thinking about how these two people of the cloth seem alike in how they are different (from every other character in the novel). They are the filled contradiction and complexity and perhaps are therefore more relatable to modern readers.
In addition to the formidable nun (with her "movements too resolute for a woman"! and the contrast of her blush of indignation to Lucia's blushes of modesty), I also loved the narrator's subtly proud intrusion on authorial discretion (and in-) at the beginning of the chapter. In the scene itself there are so many subtle turns from moment to moment -- toward the end, e.g., the guardian winking to let Lucia know "that the time had come to step out of her shell and rescue her poor mother" -- how every one of these interactions adds to the construction of all the characters -- technical effects that are really impressive.
A short piece in Italian about the nun of Monza.
https://artshapes.it/monaca-monza-promessi-sposi-storia/
The eccentric worldly-wise nun with a complicated past who's a practical force for good. A trope that never gets stale. See Infinite Jest. This must have one one of its earliest appearances.
It’s been a long time since IJ for me, so remarkable to find it resurfacing in this context…
always love a reminder that Infinite Jest exists.
La Signora--odd character indeed. I look forward to her story.
In the lead up to the nun, two separate characters don’t accept Renzo’s tip. They, for whatever reason, prefer a “higher” reward. What a different world then and now. I’m curious whether the path is being laid in a certain fashion to prime us to think of the nun as the culminating deflector of material rewards.
"...appearing to blush. But did she really?" This young mysterious nun with a stray lock of hair makes a complicated entrance!
Those nuns and padres of the 16th century often had reasons for being where there were for reasons that had little to do with beliefs in higher powers. Intrigues. Politics. Family debts and/or honor. And often something having to do with money. (I keep thinking of the much less cerebral Medici series on Netflix!) Wealthy offspring were often sent away to monasteries for political gain.
Evi Maltagliati gives a nuanced portrayal of the Nun of Monza in Mario Camerini's 1941 film adaptation. She brings out the ambiguity of her character.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/I_promessi_sposi_-_Evi_Maltagliati.jpg?20160924105928