After the Divorce · Chapter
XIV explained
Giacobbe Dejas lies gravely ill, tormented by fever and guilt over his murder of Costantino Ledda.
What happens
Giacobbe Dejas lies gravely ill, tormented by fever and guilt over his murder of Costantino Ledda. He insists on confessing to Priest Elias, the magistrate, and Brontu Dejas. Aunt Anna-Rosa and Isidoro Pane grapple with the moral weight of his confession, while Anna-Rosa undergoes a profound physical and emotional transformation, torn between her love for her brother and the horror of his crime.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Resilience
Giacobbe endures physical pain from the tarantula bite and psychological torment from guilt and fear of damnation. Aunt Anna-Rosa suffers moral anguish, aging rapidly under the weight of her brother's secret.
Religion and Morality
Giacobbe's need for confession and his fear of hell reflect deep religious beliefs. The moral dilemma of concealing a crime versus the duty to confess is central to the chapter.
Injustice and Fate
The inevitability of Giacobbe's punishment—either death or prison—and the sense that fate has caught up with him, as reflected in Isidoro's remark: 'It is the way of the world!'
Characters to notice
- Giacobbe Dejas
Lies ill with fever from a tarantula bite, tormented by guilt and nightmares of hell. Insists on confessing his murder of Costantino Ledda to Priest Elias, the magistrate, and Brontu Dejas.
- Aunt Martina Dejas
Referred to as Aunt Anna-Rosa; she is devastated by her brother's confession, ages visibly, and struggles with conflicting feelings of love and horror.
- Isidoro Pane
Stays to help care for Giacobbe, brings a folk remedy for the bite, and tries to calm the sick man. He reflects on the strange ways of the world.
- Brontu Dejas
Mentioned as someone Giacobbe wants to confess to; has visited the sick man twice.
- Priest Elias
Expected to come hear Giacobbe's confession; appears in Giacobbe's feverish dream.
- Doctor Puddu
The coarse, drunken physician who cauterizes the tarantula bite and dismisses Giacobbe's fears.
Key passages
“It is the way of the world.”
Such strange and terrible things are simply part of life's natural course.
Isidoro Pane's resigned reflection on Giacobbe's confession and the nature of human events.
“Why do you take all this trouble for me, Anna-Ro? Don't you want me to die?”
Giacobbe questions his sister's care, aware that she must wish for his death to avoid his public shame.
Highlights the painful paradox of Anna-Rosa's love and her hope for his death.
“Poor little Aunt Anna-Rosa! It did not take much to anger her in these days; she quarrelled, indeed, with everyone except the patient.”
Aunt Anna-Rosa had become irritable and aged, lashing out at others but remaining gentle only with her dying brother.
Describes the profound change in Anna-Rosa's character after Giacobbe's confession.