The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni
**Overview of "The Betrothed" by Alessandro Manzoni**
"The Betrothed" (Italian: "I Promessi Sposi") is a historical novel written by Alessandro Manzoni, first published in 1827. Set in 17th-century Italy, it follows the tumultuous love story of two peasant characters, Lorenzo and Lucia, who face significant obstacles due to the oppressive actions of a local nobleman, Don Rodrigo. The narrative begins just before their intended marriage, which is thwarted when their priest, Don Abbondio, is threatened by Don Rodrigo's henchmen. The novel explores themes of love, social justice, and the impact of historical events such as famine and plague on ordinary lives.
As Lucia seeks refuge from her aggressor, the story introduces various characters, including the saintly Capuchin monk Fra Cristoforo, who aids her in her plight, and the powerful noble known as the Un-named, who experiences a moral transformation. The characters navigate a landscape of societal strife, reflecting the struggles between nobility and peasantry, and the influence of religious institutions. Ultimately, "The Betrothed" culminates in a resolution that emphasizes endurance, faith, and the triumph of love over adversity, as the couple overcomes their trials to finally marry and establish a family in a new land. This work is celebrated as a cornerstone of Italian literature, offering a rich tapestry of human experience against the backdrop of historical challenges.
On this Page
The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni
First published:I promessi sposi, 1827 (English translation, 1828)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Historical
Time of plot: Seventeenth century
Locale: Milan, Italy
Principal characters
Lorenzo , a young Italian peasantLucia , his betrothedDon Rodrigo , an arrogant noblemanThe Un-named , a powerful outlaw noblemanDon Abbondio , a parish priestFra Cristoforo , a Capuchin and a friend of the betrothed couple
The Story:
On the day before he is to perform the marriage ceremony for Lorenzo and Lucia, two young peasants, Don Abbondio, parish priest at Lecco, is warned by two armed henchmen of Don Rodrigo, a tyrannical noble, not to marry the pair. In fear for his life, Don Abbondio refuses to perform the marriage when asked to do so by the young couple. When they try to trick him into being present while they exchange vows, he dashes away into hiding.
The reason for the warning given to the priest is that Don Rodrigo wishes to seduce Lucia. He is not in love with the young woman, but he wagered his cousin that he can have her for his enjoyment while she is still a virgin. Toward this end, he sends a crew of his henchmen to abduct the girl from her home. Appearing at Lucia’s home, they are frightened away by the tumult aroused when the priest causes the alarm to be sounded by tolling the church bell.
Frightened, Lucia seeks aid from a saintly Capuchin, Fra Cristoforo, who gives her, her mother, and Lorenzo temporary haven within the walls of the monastery while he makes arrangements for the safety of all three, away from the wrath and wickedness of Don Rodrigo. He sends the girl to seek sanctuary with a Capuchin chapter at Monza, along with her mother. He sends Lorenzo to another monastery in Milan.
Arriving at Monza, Lucia is put under the care of a nun who belongs to a noble family that placed her in the convent rather than pay a dowry. The nun is a headstrong woman and, in some ways, wicked, but the Capuchins think Lucia will be safe under her care. Lucia remains hidden for some weeks.
Don Rodrigo initiates a search for her until his henchmen discover her place of refuge. Fearing that he can never take her from the sanctuary, Don Rodrigo enlists the aid of a powerful noble called the Un-named. The Un-named, grateful for past services by Don Rodrigo, agrees to aid his vassal in abducting the woman and in teaching a harsh lesson to peasants who think they can defy the nobility.
The Un-named learns that one of his men living near the convent is to murder a nun who displeased the woman to whom the Capuchins sent Lucia. As a result of the murder committed for her benefit, the nun is forced to enter into the scheme and send Lucia out of the convent. Once out of the sanctuary, Lucia is kidnapped by the Un-named’s men and taken in a coach to his mountain retreat.
Meanwhile, Lorenzo fails to reach the Capuchin monastery in Milan. Upon his arrival in the city, he finds the populace in turmoil because of a shortage of bread. He takes part in a riot, and afterward he becomes drunk in a tavern. While drunk, he babbles to a police spy that he incited a crowd to riot, and the spy has him arrested by the police. Another mob releases Lorenzo from the police. With a price on his head, he flees from the Duchy of Milan into territory controlled by Venice. There he locates a distant relative who finds work for him in a silk mill. When the authorities of Milan try to have him returned to that city, Lorenzo flees again and assumes a fictitious name in another Venetian community.
The Un-named is moved by Lucia’s beauty and innocence and refuses to turn her over to Don Rodrigo. Instead, he goes to Cardinal Federigo and announces that he suffered a change of conscience and wishes to end a career of tyranny and oppression. The churchman welcomes him as an erring parishioner. Lucia is released from her imprisonment in the noble’s mountain castle and returns once again to the keeping of her mother. Rather than send the woman to her home and the persecution of Don Rodrigo, Cardinal Federigo sends Lucia and her mother to the home of a noblewoman known for her charity. There Lucia will be safe.
Don Rodrigo, angry because Fra Cristoforo aids the young woman and so preserves her honor, causes the removal of the Capuchin to Rimini. More than a year passes; Lorenzo is unable to return to the Duchy of Milan because of his banishment. Corresponding with Lorenzo through letters, Lucia tells him that in her period of duress she vowed to the Virgin that she will never marry if released from the clutches of the ruffians. Finally, because of the time that intervenes and the confusion that arises because of a plague, Lorenzo decides to return to Milan, where Lucia is staying with the charitable noblewoman. While searching for her in a city desolated by the plague, he contracts the disease. After his recovery, he continues his search, only to learn that Lucia is ill and was sent to the pesthouse, along with thousands of other unfortunates who contract the disease.
At the pesthouse, he finds Fra Cristoforo, who went to Milan to aid the sick. Among his patients the Capuchin has Don Rodrigo, who catches the plague and is near death. Fra Cristoforo makes Lorenzo pardon Don Rodrigo and promise to pray for his soul. Continuing his search for Lucia, Lorenzo finds her convalescing in the women’s section of the pesthouse. After their reunion, Fra Cristoforo tells Lucia that her vow to the Virgin is not valid, inasmuch as she previously exchanged betrothal vows with Lorenzo.
When the plague subsides, Lorenzo goes back to their village and finds that the plague almost wiped out its population, although sparing Don Abbondio and Lucia’s mother. While he is there, the new heir to the estate arrives, Don Rodrigo having succumbed to the plague. With the new incumbent’s aid, for he is a friend of the cardinal who befriended Lucia, the betrothed couple return to Lecco and are at last married by Don Abbondio.
After their marriage, the couple move, again with the nobleman’s aid, to a new home in the Venetian territory, where Lorenzo plies his trade in a silk mill, and he and Lucia rear a large and healthy family.
Bibliography
Barricelli, Gian Piero. Alessandro Manzoni. Boston: Twayne, 1976. A thorough introduction to Manzoni. Provides a biography that focuses more on his life after his conversion to Catholicism in 1810 than on his life preceding the conversion. Analyzes The Betrothed’s characters, styles, and themes.
Chandler, S. B. Alessandro Manzoni: The Story of a Spiritual Quest. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1974. An insightful investigation of Manzoni’s works, describing how his writings demonstrate Manzoni’s spiritual development and his movement toward a spiritual view of life.
Ferlito, Susanna F. “Fear of the Mother’s Tongue: Secrecy and Gossip in Manzoni’s I promessi sposi.” MLN 113, no. 1 (January, 1998): 30-51. Discusses how Manzoni’s representation of the mother-daughter bond in The Betrothed implicitly recognizes and keeps at bay the critical potential of that bond and, by extension, a female alliance among the peasants.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Topographies of Desire: Manzoni, Cultural Practices, and Colonial Scars. New York: Peter Lang, 2000. Drawing upon a wide range of current disciplinary debates in the fields of comparative politics, anthropology, cultural studies, and comparative literature, Ferlito examines how Manzoni’s French and Italian works produced differences between cultural discourses in a nineteenth century Europe that did not consider itself to be naturally divided between nation-states. Includes bibliography and index.
Godt, Clareece G. The Mobile Spectacle: Variable Perspective in Manzoni’s “I promessi sposi.” New York: Peter Lang, 1998. Describes how Manzoni consistently represents what the eye sees (landscape, cityscape) and the mind conceives (characters’ plans, history) under different and often paradoxical aspects. Includes notes and comprehensive bibliography.
Matteo, Sante, and Larry Peer, eds. The Reasonable Romantic: Essays on Alessandro Manzoni. New York: Peter Lang, 1986. A collection of critical essays on the range of Manzoni’s works.
Pierce, Glenn. Manzoni and the Aesthetics of the Lombard Seicento: Art Assimilating into the Narrative of “I promessi sposi.” Lewisburg, Pa.: Bucknell University Press, 1998. Pierce examines The Betrothed in terms of seventeenth century aesthetics, demonstrating how Manzoni used artistic and dramatic works from that period as historical documents with which to create his novel. Contains numerous illustrations.
Ragusa, Olga. “Alessandro Manzoni and Developments in the Historical Novel.” In The Cambridge Companion to the Italian Novel, edited by Peter Bondanella and Andrea Ciccarelli. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Ragusa’s essay is included in this historical overview of the Italian novel. While referring to many of his works, she focuses on The Betrothed and provides a broader context of his place in Italian literature.
Wall, Bernard. Alessandro Manzoni. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1954. Provides an overview of Manzoni’s life and his role as poet and dramatist before examining The Betrothed, its place in literature, and the controversies of Manzoni’s religion, his use of the Italian language, and the novel’s relationship to Romanticism.