A Ghost at Noon: Analysis of Major Characters
"A Ghost at Noon: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the complex interpersonal dynamics among the main figures in a narrative centered around Riccardo Molteni, a screenwriter navigating the challenges of newfound success. Riccardo, once a happy theater critic living modestly with his wife Emilia, finds his relationship strained as he ascends to wealth and prominence in the film industry. Emilia's discontent grows alongside Riccardo's career advancements, leading to feelings of resentment and emotional distance, which complicate their marriage.
Signor Battista, the film producer who hires Riccardo, embodies the materialistic tendencies of the postwar Italian film industry, often prioritizing commercial success over artistic integrity. In contrast, Herr Rheingold, a German director, seeks to approach storytelling from a more profound psychological perspective, which resonates with Riccardo's own internal struggles regarding his marriage. Finally, Pasetti, the director of Riccardo's first film, represents the petty and pretentious elements within the industry, further accentuating Riccardo's envy and frustration.
Together, these characters illustrate the thematic tension between art and commerce, personal ambition, and the complexities of love and loyalty, offering a rich tapestry for analysis within the narrative.
A Ghost at Noon: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Alberto Moravia
First published: Il disprezzo, 1954 (English translation, 1955)
Genre: Novel
Locale: Rome, Capri, and the coast of southwestern Italy
Plot: Psychological
Time: The 1950's
Riccardo Molteni (mohl-TEH-nee), a screenwriter. When he was an impoverished theater critic, Molteni lived happily with his wife, Emilia, although he always yearned to do more for her. When a film producer named Battista hires him to write a screenplay, he does so and is a success. From the moment he begins his new career and acquires more money, however, Emilia gradually turns away from him and rejects him. Insecure and puzzled by Emilia's cold behavior, Riccardo is driven frantic by her rejection. He seeks ways to recapture her love and return to the old days when they were happy. He does not give up his screenwriting or his affluence and loses Emilia.
Emilia Molteni, Riccardo's wife, a former typist. A beautiful young woman, she was content when she and Riccardo lived simply and together in spirit. She secretly comes to resent Riccardo's new job, their new apartment, and his extravagance, but she refuses to admit that her feelings have changed and continues to deny her indifference to him, even though it makes him unhappy and insanely jealous. Emilia is unable to adapt to the new level of affluence that Riccardo has earned for her.
Signor Battista, the film producer who gives Riccardo his first job as a screenwriter. Battista is a middle-aged man, short and sometimes called “the big ape.” He has found rich success in the Italian film industry of the postwar era. Materialistic and vain, he nevertheless pretends to be interested in films only as art. He considers using Homer's The Odyssey as the subject of a film and views the various events in the story as opportunities to titillate film audiences. Battista symbolizes the crass and sensational aspects of the Italian film industry and films in general. In his speech, Battista also represents “culture” as traduced by commerce, and he becomes upset with anyone who hints that he is materialistic.
Herr Rheingold (RIN-gold), a German film director called in to direct the film of The Odyssey that Battista proposes. Silver-haired and with the “Olympian” features of a great thinker, he is a man of the past, having reached fame in the 1930's as a director of German films in the colossal style. Rheingold disagrees with Battista that Homer's poem can provide the basis of a sensational film. Instead, Rheingold wants to make the film a psychological study of a man who is unhappy with his wife and hesitates to return home. This view in a way harmonizes with Riccardo's worry over his own dilemma about Emilia. Thus, Riccardo often agrees with Rheingold during script discussions, though he does not agree with Rheingold's personal interpretations of the story.
Pasetti (pah-SEHT-tee), the director of Molteni's first film. A maker of small commercial films, Pasetti nevertheless professes great admiration for the arts and presents himself as a cultured man. He lives with his devoted wife, and Riccardo envies him tremendously for this domestic bliss, although he dislikes Pasetti's pretensions. Pasetti is typical of the kind of entertainment people with artistic ambitions who filled the Italian film business in the 1950's. Pasetti also displays the pettiness of the little tyrant when he pretends to withhold Riccardo's check temporarily. It is this gesture that makes Molteni despise and envy the director.