The Garden of the Finzi-Continis: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Garden of the Finzi-Continis: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the intricate dynamics among key figures within a wealthy Jewish family in 1930s Italy, as they navigate the challenges posed by rising anti-Semitism. Central to this narrative is Micòl Finzi-Contini, a privileged young woman grappling with her academic pursuits and complex emotional relationships, particularly with the narrator, who is captivated by her but ultimately realizes her lack of reciprocation. The narrator, a middle-class Jewish man, finds himself drawn into the exclusive world of the Finzi-Continis, experiencing both camaraderie and the painful recognition of societal prejudices.
Micòl's brother, Alberto, serves as a contrasting figure; he embodies passivity and disillusionment, while facing personal health challenges that heighten his sense of insecurity. Giampiero Malnate, a Gentile and friend to the narrator, adds another layer to the characterization, with his practical yet uncomplicated nature and political beliefs shaping his interactions with the group. Lastly, Professor Ermanno, the learned patriarch of the Finzi-Contini family, represents the older generation's struggle to reconcile intellectual ideals with the grim realities of their present circumstances. Through these characters, the narrative delves into themes of love, identity, and the impact of societal changes on personal lives.
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Giorgio Bassani
First published: Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini, 1962 (English translation, 1965)
Genre: Novel
Locale: Ferrara, Italy
Plot: Social realism
Time: Primarily fall, 1938, to summer, 1939
Micòl Finzi-Contini (mee-KOHL FEEN-zee-kohn-TEEnee), a young and wealthy Jewish woman of twenty-three, accustomed both to the adoration of her family and friends and to having her own way. She is unenthusiastically working on a graduate thesis about Emily Dickinson. Anti-Semitic feelings, propaganda, and regulations in her hometown of Ferrara, Italy, force her to socialize with other Jews, rather than with Gentiles of her own social and economic station. She lives with her parents, brother, and grandmother on the large ancestral estate belonging to her father's family. Micòl is having an affair with Giampiero Malnate. Although she speaks publicly about Malnate as boring and unattractive, she secretly meets him at night in a farmer's hut in the park of the estate.
The narrator, a young, middle-class Jewish man who has decided to take an advanced university degree. He finds himself involved, at a transitional phase in his life, with the wealthy Finzi-Contini family. They have fascinated him since his childhood, when he watched them during Sabbath services at the local synagogue. When the Fascists come to power and restrictions are placed on the Jewish population of Ferrara, the narrator becomes friendly with the Finzi-Contini children. He has never socialized with them because they have been tutored at home and have kept apart from the less wealthy Jews in town. What begins for the narrator as a pleasant interlude of tennis and camaraderie grows into an obsession with Micòl and the subsequent realization that she does not love him. Micòl's father offers him the free run of his large Renaissance library in which to do research. The narrator accepts because it places him in daily contact with Micòl. As he learns the distressing fact that she will never return his love, he also discovers the manifestations of economic and racial prejudice that exist within the Jewish community.
Alberto Finzi-Contini, Micòl's brother, a young man in his early twenties. He is passive and unsure of himself; bored with his existence, he is too much of a follower to risk interest in anything. He has a materialistic bent and shows some talent in reproducing antique furniture. He takes little pleasure in his possessions or designs beyond showing them off to others. Although he has been led to believe that he is superior to others by virtue of his family position, he suspects that this may not be true. He develops a malignant lymphogranuloma during the year and becomes more passive and quiet as the disease takes its course.
Giampiero Malnate (jee-ahm-pee-EHR-oh mahl-NAHteh), a twenty-five-year-old Gentile. He is tall, hairy, and overweight. He wears glasses with thick lenses and has steel-gray eyes. He is the oldest of the group of tennis players invited to play at the Finzi-Contini estate after the Ferrara tennis club is closed to Jews. An acquaintance of Alberto from Milan, he has recently been certified as a chemist and works at a factory producing synthetic rubber. Malnate is a Communist, which leads him to believe that he is hard-boiled and practical. In reality, he is trusting and uncomplicated. After Micòl forbids the narrator to come to the estate because of his obvious obsession with her, Malnate becomes his friend and discusses Communist ideas with him. When he finds out about the narrator's infatuation with Micòl, he shows a brotherly concern for him.
Professor Ermanno (ehr-MAHN-noh), the father of Alberto and Micòl, a gentleman and a scholar. He is considerably shorter than his wife and wears light-colored linen suits and a panama hat with a black ribbon. He has a great love of literature, and he quotes from great works while peering through his pince-nez. He believes that he has a mission to pass along his knowledge, which makes him generous enough to allow the narrator the use of his library. He is a historian of Italian Jewry and wants to maintain his ancestral way of life. He is blind to the actual political conditions in Ferrara and takes refuge in his books. He depends on Micòl to deal with the everyday household chores. He is disappointed in his children, whom he wishes were more like the narrator.