Tom Kryspin
The
novel, Last Letter of Jacopo Ortis,
explores the life Jacopo as told in letters written by Jacopo. The letters were
compiled by Ugo Foscolo as a way to tell the life of Jacopo Ortis.
Throughout
the book Jacopo pours out his feelings and thoughts in many letters. The reader
is able to capture the hardships he has had and the life that he lived. From
the start he was destined to live a life of sorrow and disappointment as he
never believed in happiness and set his sights for disappointment. Early in the
novel on page 20 he writes, “And with that angelic creature born to love and be
loved? And so unhappy at the same time! And I am always so completely at one
with those who are unhappy, because – truly – there is something wicked in a
man who is thriving.” With this statement he reveals that he believes that in
general man should not be happy and he connects to those who are not. Also,
this statement provides a guide for Jacopo in his life that he will be full of
disappointments and sorrows, as he believes there is no area for him to thrive
in life.
However,
throughout the novel Jacopo explores contrary ideas to his very own. On page 88
in a letter to Lorenzo he says, “But you, I beg you, live as happily as you
can.” This line from Jacopo shows how he does have conflicting ideas in his
life and is somewhat of a paradox. In the beginning he thinks a man is wicked
for thriving in life but later on he wants his friend Lorenzo to be happy and
thriving. This conflicting life of Jacopo may be the cause of his life of
sorrow and disappointment.
Jacopo does not believe that, in general, men are destined to be unhappy. Rather, he believes that men who are virtuous will lead unhappy lives. He states that the only way to find "happiness" is to follow the ways of the world and to look down on those who are truly virtuous. To become happy and prosperous, one must first be wicked. The powerful, happy men easily rule over the poor, giving punishments to those who disobey the law. However, to achieve their positions of power, they first had to kill those in their way or employ trickery to gather influence. He states, "he who dishonours himself most, may live the better for it, but ashamed of himself, and mocked by those very tyrants to whom he sells himself, and by whom one day he will be sold" (Foscolo 89). These people who do live happily and wealthily have achieved their positions through dishonest acts. Likewise, those who do live lives of virtue, must suffer in poverty or seclusion. Jacopo wrote, "(people who are cunning) seduce those few frank and ardent souls who, loving mankind sincerely in their eagerness to be loved in return, will always be victims repenting too late of their loyal credulity" (Foscolo 108). Those who are virtuous are taken advantage of, pushed to the side, or mistreated by the rich who are jealous of their virtuousness. Jacopo is virtuous, and, because of this, he relates very well to other unhappy and "angelic" people, like Teresa (Foscolo 20).
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