User:Viololol

The Betrothed

The Betrothed is by far the most known novel in Italy, and around the globe along other classics like Frankenstein, Pride and Prejudice, The Picture of Dorian Gray and Spare. Written by Alessandro Manzoni (Milan, 1785—1873) during the Romantic period, it's about a complicated love story in 1628-30 Lombardy that is obvoously hindered by various factors. Before we start, let's introduce our main characters.

Characters

• Lorenzo Tramaglino, called Renzo, is the male love interest in the novel. He is a farmer, described as lively and outgoing.
• Lucy (Lucia) Mondella is the female protagonist, Renzo's girlfriend. Unlike her lover, she's shy and humble, but can turn into a fury when she wants to. She works at the spinning mill.
• Agnese "Mondella" (surname not given) is Lucia's mother. A cautious but blabbermouth woman, she keeps Lucia company through the story since Renzo can’t for reasons we’ll go over later.
• Don Abbondio is the town's priest. Cowardly and submissive to the higher powers, he's the funniest character in the novel, just because he's that pathetic.
• Don Rodrigo, unlike aforementioned Abbondio, is not from the clergy, but simply the rich Spanish boss of the town. If you couldn't guess, he's the bad guy.
• Friar Christopher (Fra Cristoforo) is a monk called by Lucia and Agnese to help them. Trying to make up for all his sins commited in his prime years, he tries to stay as calm as possible all the time. He killed a man last time he didn't.
• Gertrude (surname not given) is the rebellious one of the bunch. Forced to be a nun by her parents since she, as a girl and second born child, couldn’t her father’s belongings, she hates it and throughly wants all the children in her convent to feel the pain she endured. She’s most-likely the most psychologically complex character in the book.
• The Unnamed is like Don Rodrigo, but worse. In fact, he’s the Unnamed. He has killed plenty and committed horrible things. Stay tuned to find out if he’ll have a change of heart!
• Cardinal Frederick/Federico Borromeo is, well, a cardinal. He doesn’t do much, but is in an important scene.

Chapters

Chapter 1-4

It’s the evening of 7th November, 1628. After a long ass introduction to the place, Pescarenico, a little village on mount Resegone in Lecco, Lombardy; finally, the story starts. Don Abbondio is walking home when he gets stopped by a pair of bravos sent by Don Rodrigo. Then, the famous quote…

“Questo matrimonio non s’ha da fare, né domani, né mai!” // “This marriage must not take place, not tomorrow, never!”