# VIII: Giulia Lazzari explained — Ashenden

> Chapter companion for Ashenden by W. Somerset Maugham.

## What happens

Ashenden confronts Giulia Lazzari after her lover's death, revealing that he took poison to avoid capture. Ashenden grants her freedom but she attempts to escape, only to be thwarted by lack of a passport. He ultimately delivers her back to detectives for return to England, reflecting on her sordid life and the transactional nature of her relationships.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Manipulation

Giulia's grief is undercut by her request for her lover's wristwatch, revealing the transactional nature of her relationships.

### Futility and Cynicism

Ashenden's detached observation of Giulia's life and her failed escape highlight the futility and cynicism of espionage.

## Character check-ins

### Ashenden

Delivers news of the lover's death, grants Giulia temporary freedom, and later arranges her return to England.

### Giulia Lazzari

Grieves her lover's death, attempts to escape Thonon, and is ultimately handed back to detectives.

### Félix

French agent who reports Giulia's attempted escape to Ashenden.

## Key lines

> Il est mort, said Ashenden. Dead! He took the poison. He had the time for that. He's escaped you after all.

Ashenden informs Giulia that her lover is dead, having poisoned himself to avoid capture.

_Reveals the lover's suicide and Giulia's prior knowledge of the poison._

> He had a wristwatch that I gave him last Christmas. It cost twelve pounds. Can I have it back?

Giulia asks for the return of a wristwatch she gave her lover, surprising Ashenden with her materialism.

_Highlights Giulia's practical concerns amid grief._

> Within a quarter of an hour of her arrival she was out of the hotel with a bundle of clothes and trinkets that she sold in a shop near the market.

Giulia quickly attempted to sell her belongings and flee Thonon.

_Shows her immediate attempt to escape after being granted freedom._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ashenden_se/chapters/viii-giulia-lazzari
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ashenden_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ashenden_se/chapters