Shorts from Scenes from Private Life · Chapter
The Vendetta explained
In 1800, Bartolomeo di Piombo, a Corsican exile, arrives at the Tuileries with his wife and daughter Ginevra.
What happens
In 1800, Bartolomeo di Piombo, a Corsican exile, arrives at the Tuileries with his wife and daughter Ginevra. He seeks an audience with Napoleon, encounters Lucien Bonaparte, and is admitted. Years later, Ginevra di Piombo is ostracized by aristocratic pupils in Servin's studio due to her family's Bonapartist ties, revealing deep social and political divisions.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Ambition
The studio is divided into aristocratic and merchant-class groups, with Ginevra ostracized due to her family's political allegiance, highlighting class tensions.
Appearance vs. Reality
The young girls' refined appearances and polite manners conceal deep-seated prejudices and political animosities, as seen in the ostracism of Ginevra.
The Role of Women
The chapter focuses on young women in an art studio, where their social standing and family politics dictate their interactions, reflecting limited spheres of influence.
Characters to notice
- Bartolomeo di Piombo
A Corsican exile who arrives at the Tuileries with his family, seeking Napoleon. He is proud, desperate, and carries a dagger.
- Ginevra di Piombo
Bartolomeo's daughter, a young girl with Italian features and dignity. Later, as a pupil in Servin's studio, she is ostracized by aristocratic classmates.
- Napoleon
The First Consul, whom Bartolomeo di Piombo seeks to see at the Tuileries.
- Amélie Thirion
A pupil in Servin's studio, leader of the aristocratic group, who orchestrates the ostracism of Ginevra di Piombo.
- Mathilde Roguin
A pupil in Servin's studio, part of the merchant-class group, who considers defending Ginevra but hesitates.
Key passages
“In the year 1800, towards the end of October, a stranger, having with him a woman and a little girl, made his appearance in front of the Tuileries Palace...”
In late October 1800, a foreign man accompanied by a woman and a young girl stood before the Tuileries Palace.
Introduces the arrival of Bartolomeo di Piombo and his family at the Tuileries.
“Let Bonaparte know that Bartolomeo di Piombo wants to see him.”
Tell Napoleon that Bartolomeo di Piombo requests an audience.
Bartolomeo demands to see the First Consul, asserting his identity.
“The proscription to which those ladies have condemned her is all the more unjust, because Mademoiselle Ginevra was very sad the day before yesterday; her father, they say, has just given up his appointment.”
The ostracism of Ginevra is especially unfair because she is already grieving her father's recent resignation from his post.
Reveals the social exclusion of Ginevra and the reason for her sadness.