# Chapter XXVIII explained — The Charterhouse of Parma

> Chapter companion for The Charterhouse of Parma by Stendhal.

## What happens

Fabrizio and Clelia's secret love affair continues, complicated by Clelia's vow to only meet in darkness. Fabrizio, now Archbishop of Parma, desires to have their son Sandrino live with him, leading to a painful scheme to fake the child's illness and death to abduct him from the Marchese Crescenzi. Clelia struggles with guilt and fear of divine punishment, while Fabrizio enlists Conte Mosca's help to arrange the Marchese's absence. Meanwhile, at the Crescenzi salon, Gonzo's tactless mention of Fabrizio's portrait causes Clelia to faint, revealing her emotional turmoil.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Passion

The intense, secret love between Fabrizio and Clelia drives the plot, marked by jealousy, sacrifice, and the pain of their forbidden relationship.

### Sacrifice and Redemption

Clelia's vow and her struggle with guilt over breaking it, as well as Fabrizio's desire for his son, highlight themes of personal sacrifice and the search for redemption.

### Hypocrisy and Morality

The contrast between Fabrizio's public piety as Archbishop and his secret life, along with the court's gossip and moral judgments, underscores societal hypocrisy.

## Character check-ins

### Fabrizio del Dongo

Now Archbishop of Parma, he is deeply in love with Clelia and desperate to have their son Sandrino live with him, leading him to propose a risky abduction scheme.

### Clelia Conti

The Marchesa Crescenzi, bound by a vow to only meet Fabrizio in darkness, is torn between her love for him and her religious guilt, and is devastated by the plan to fake Sandrino's illness.

### Conte Mosca

Fabrizio's intimate friend and former minister, who is moved by the love story and agrees to help by arranging the Marchese Crescenzi's absence.

### Marchese Crescenzi

Clelia's husband and a great noble, who is the target of the abduction plot and is later kidnapped by brigands arranged by Mosca.

### Signor Gonzo

A poor but shrewd hanger-on at the Crescenzi salon, whose tactless mention of Fabrizio's portrait causes Clelia to faint.

### Cavaliere Foscarini

An honest man and influential friend of the Marchese's mother, whose shrewd perception makes Clelia tremble with guilt.

### Sandrino

The young son of Fabrizio and Clelia, who becomes the focus of the abduction plot and is made genuinely ill by the prolonged deception.

## Key lines

> to see Fabrizio; these had been her exact words; consequently she received him only at night, and there was never any light in the room.

Clelia's vow meant she only met Fabrizio in complete darkness, never allowing any light during their encounters.

_Highlights the extreme secrecy and constraint of their love._

> I wish to have my son; I wish him to live with me; I wish to see him every day; I wish him to grow accustomed to loving me; I wish to love him myself at my leisure.

Fabrizio expresses his deep desire to have Sandrino live with him so he can build a loving father-son relationship.

_Shows Fabrizio's paternal longing and the central conflict of the chapter._

> Gonzo observed that everything which was said about little Annetta Marini made the Marchesa emerge for a moment from the state of dreamy indifference...

Gonzo noticed that Clelia only showed interest when gossip about Annetta Marini was mentioned, suggesting jealousy.

_Reveals Clelia's hidden emotional state and the social dynamics of the salon._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se/chapters/xxviii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se/chapters