APS TOGETHER
Day 27
The Betrothed by Alessandro ManzoniChapter 21
March 19, 2023 by Michael F. Moore
Now we enter into the moral heart of the novel, which interrogates the concept of God and of “the good.”
Lucia makes a vow (a “promessa,” in Italian, resonating with the title of the novel, I promessi sposi):
“Help me to escape from this danger and lead me back to safety with my mother, oh Mother of God, and I vow to you to remain a virgin for the rest of my life, and to renounce my poor love forever, and belong to no one but you.”
The Nameless One passes a dark night of the soul:
“But as he sought a reasonable explanation for even a single deed, the tormented self-examiner found himself engulfed in an interrogation of his whole life.”
On the verge of committing suicide, he remembers the words of Lucia:
“God will forgive many things for an act of mercy!”
Regret, remorse, repentance: is there any way the Nameless One can atone for a lifetime of murder, crime, and sin? Should there be?
