Tozzi Response

Pietro, Federigo personified, struggles with adolescent love because of his controlling father. The idea of forbidden love sticks in Pietro’s mind even when ghisola moves around; he still believes that he loves her. Pietro’s father is so successful in his businesses and he wants the same for his son. In order to ensure that Pietro is successful he tries to keep him sheltered from the world. Domenico thinks his son is easily swayed in beliefs, “Domenico mentioned school resentfully and at the times he thought Pietro most suggestible” (Tozzi, 75). His father didn’t approve of his socialist views and discouraged him from learning and traveling. Ghisola, forced into moving by Domenico, in throw into the real world and must come up with ways to survive and she eventually picks up a job at a brothel. Pietro still reads her letters and still believes in their love, so when he first hears of Ghisola’s involvement with the brothel he doesn’t quite believe and still has hope. Entering the brothel and seeing pregnant and compromised Ghisola is a defining moment for Pietro because he realizes that his former ideas about love were wrong and he no longer loves her.