Romola · Chapter
XXXVII: The Tabernacle Unlocked explained
Romola awakens at dawn, resolved to flee Florence.
What happens
Romola awakens at dawn, resolved to flee Florence. She gives Maso her traveling wallet and writes farewell letters to Tito and Bernardo del Nero, then takes the key to the painted tabernacle and removes the crucifix, hanging it around her neck. She leaves the house quietly, passes through the city streets, and exits through the Porta San Gallo. On the road, she encounters two monks, which unsettles her, but she continues onward, feeling a sense of freedom and relief as she pauses to rest.
Themes in this chapter
Female Agency and Marriage
Romola's flight is a decisive act of self-determination against the constraints of her marriage, as she rejects her husband's authority and seeks freedom.
Betrayal and Deception
Romola's use of a religious disguise and her secret departure highlight the theme of deception, both in her own actions and in the betrayal she has suffered from Tito.
Redemption and Moral Choice
Romola's decision to leave and her taking of the crucifix suggest a moral choice, seeking a new path and perhaps redemption from her past.
Characters to notice
- Romola de' Bardi
Romola executes her plan to leave Florence, writing farewell letters, taking the crucifix from the tabernacle, and departing in disguise.
- Maso
Maso comes to Romola's door for the traveling wallet and is startled by her changed appearance; he departs ahead of her.
- Tito Melema
Though absent, Tito is the recipient of Romola's farewell letter, in which she declares her love for him dead.
- Bernardo del Nero
Romola writes to her godfather, asking him to protect her memory and to receive her bridal chest.
- Dino
Romola takes the crucifix for Dino's sake, recalling her brother's memory.
Key passages
“Romola was waked by a tap at the door. The cold light of early morning was in the room, and Maso was come for the travelling-wallet.”
Romola is awakened by a knock at the door, and in the pale morning light, Maso arrives to collect the travel bag.
The chapter opens with Romola's departure preparations.
“It was the original key of the little painted tabernacle: Tito had forgotten to drown it in the Arno, and it had lodged, as such small things will, in the corner of the embroidered scarsella which he wore with the purple tunic.”
The key to the painted tabernacle was the original one, which Tito had neglected to dispose of, and it had remained in the pocket of his purple tunic.
The key symbolizes the hidden truth of Tito's betrayal.
““Tito, my love for you is dead; and therefore, so far as I was yours, I too am dead. Do not try to put in force any laws for the sake of fetching me back: that would bring you no happiness. The Romola you married can never return.””
Romola writes to Tito that her love is dead, and she is no longer the person he married; she warns him not to attempt to force her return.
This letter marks the definitive end of Romola's marriage.
“She thrust the key into the tabernacle hurriedly: hurriedly she opened it, and took out the crucifix, without looking at it; then, with trembling fingers, she passed a cord through the little ring, hung the crucifix round her neck, and hid it in the bosom of her mantle.”
Romola quickly unlocked the tabernacle and took out the crucifix, which she hung around her neck and concealed within her clothing.
The act of taking the crucifix is both a personal and symbolic gesture.
“Out! Once past the houses of the Borgo, she would be beyond the last fringe of Florence, the sky would be broad above her, and she would have entered on her new life—a life of loneliness and endurance, but of freedom.”
Once she leaves the city's outskirts, Romola envisions a new life of solitude and hardship, but also of liberty.
Romola's escape is framed as a liberation.
