Happiness in Tarchetti’s Passion

One can never be in state of complete happiness or complete unhappiness. As Giorgio says, “I am convinced that neither unhappiness nor happiness can be absolute” (p. 51). This implies a paradox: if one may not be not one or the other, one must be both content and discontent simultaneously. Giorgio’s happiness in the inception of the novel stems from the reciprocal love between him and Clara. At the same time, he is unhappy because he is not where he wants to be, both physically and in his position of work. The military discharged him and forced him to return to the place he liked least in the world: his hometown. Milan cures him of his disgust of his location, while conversely providing a way for his sadness to return in the form of separation from Clara. Fosca further complicates the matter when she forces Giorgio to pity her and feign love for her, leading him to a state of despair. However, there perpetually remains at least a remote reason for him to be happy, in this case, because Clara still loves him. When Clara tells him she can no longer see him, he has no reason to be happy and therefore must find his own happiness, which he does through a newfound adoration of Fosca.