After the Divorce · Chapter
XVII explained
Costantino, now sixty-four days after his return, is consumed by misery and rage, feeling isolated and worn down.
What happens
Costantino, now sixty-four days after his return, is consumed by misery and rage, feeling isolated and worn down. He waits for Mattea, a half-witted girl who brings him gossip from the Dejas house, at Isidoro's hut. After a tense interaction, Mattea leaves abruptly. Costantino drinks alone, wrestling with his longing for Giovanna and his scorn for her, ultimately deciding to walk toward the village.
Themes in this chapter
Isolation and Longing
Costantino feels a frozen void around him, likened to a shipwrecked mariner, and longs for light and connection, mirrored by the blind man's song.
Suffering and Resilience
Costantino's heart is 'eaten into by misery, by rage and passion,' yet he continues to endure, even as he contemplates self-destructive choices.
Love and Betrayal
Costantino's conflicted feelings for Giovanna—longing mixed with scorn—and his thoughts of her betraying Brontu highlight the theme of love and betrayal.
Characters to notice
- Costantino Ledda
Suffering from isolation and inner turmoil, he waits for Mattea and struggles with his feelings for Giovanna.
- Mattea
A half-witted girl who brings Costantino gossip; she visits him at the hut but leaves abruptly after a tense exchange.
- Isidoro Pane
Mentioned as being away on a fishing trip; Costantino feels relief from his semi-paternal oversight.
- Giovanna Era
The object of Costantino's conflicted longing and scorn; he recalls a kiss and debates whether to approach her.
- Brontu Dejas
Mentioned as a threat by Uncle Isidoro; Costantino dismisses the danger of Brontu killing or arresting him.
Key passages
“A frozen void seemed to surround him, like a great sea, calm, but boundless, stretching away in all directions from a shipwrecked mariner.”
Costantino felt an immense, cold emptiness around him, like a calm but endless ocean surrounding a castaway.
Illustrates Costantino's profound isolation and despair.
“He remembered a kiss he had once given her as she lay asleep, and how she had opened her eyes with a startled look, exclaiming: 'Oh, I thought it was some one else!'”
He recalled kissing Giovanna while she slept, and her startled reaction when she woke, thinking he was someone else.
Highlights Costantino's painful memories and his longing for Giovanna.
“He dreamed of Giovanna an honest woman, lost forever in this world, but restored to him in eternity.”
He imagined Giovanna as a virtuous woman, lost to him in this life but reunited with him in the afterlife.
Reveals Costantino's spiritual yearning and moral conflict.