The Charterhouse of Parma · Chapter
XVI explained
The Duchessa Sanseverina is plunged into despair upon learning that Fabrizio is imprisoned in the citadel of Parma.
What happens
The Duchessa Sanseverina is plunged into despair upon learning that Fabrizio is imprisoned in the citadel of Parma. She wrestles with her love for him, her hatred for the Prince, and her complicated feelings for Conte Mosca. After a sleepless night of rage and anguish, she resolves to feign indifference toward Fabrizio to protect him. When Conte Mosca finally gains admittance, she calmly proposes a separation, insisting she loves Fabrizio only as a sister, but that his happiness is essential to her own.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Passion
The Duchessa's desperate love for Fabrizio drives her every thought and action, though she denies it to Conte Mosca.
Power and Politics
Court intrigues, the Prince's authority, and the balance of power among ministers determine Fabrizio's fate.
Sacrifice and Redemption
The Duchessa contemplates sacrificing her relationship with Mosca and even her own life to save Fabrizio.
Characters to notice
- Duchessa Sanseverina
Overwhelmed by despair and rage at Fabrizio's imprisonment; she contemplates vengeance, feigned indifference, and a break with Conte Mosca.
- Fabrizio del Dongo
Imprisoned in the Torre Farnese of the citadel; his fate is the central concern of the Duchessa's thoughts.
- Conte Mosca
The Duchessa's lover and Prime Minister; she decides to part from him, though he remains devoted and offers to resign.
- General Fabio Conti
Governor of the citadel; the Duchessa fears he will become Minister and worsen Fabrizio's situation.
- Rassi
The Grand Fiscal; the Duchessa briefly considers taking him as a lover for political advantage but recoils in horror.
- Prince Ranuccio
The Prince of Parma; the Duchessa sees him as a tyrant whose vanity endangers Fabrizio.
- Clelia Conti
Mentioned as having spoken with the Duchessa the previous evening; her youth contrasts with the Duchessa's despair.
Key passages
“Fabrizio is in the power of his enemies, and perhaps to spite me they will give him poison!”
The Duchessa fears that Fabrizio's enemies will poison him out of revenge against her.
Highlights her immediate terror and sense of helplessness.
“I shall take a new lover, or so at least people will suppose; I shall say to this lover: 'After all, the Prince does right to punish Fabrizio's folly; but on the day of his festa, no doubt our gracious Sovereign will set him at liberty.' Thus I gain six months.”
She plans to feign a new romance and publicly downplay Fabrizio's danger to buy time.
Shows her strategic thinking amid emotional turmoil.
“Let us part, my dear Conte, let us part, we must!”
She tells Conte Mosca that they must separate.
A decisive moment in their relationship, driven by her need to act independently.