Book Review: "The Betrothed" by Alessandro Manzoni

I was told that this is one of the seminal books from Italy and though I have not actually read the book before this, I have actually heard of the book. The book was written in 1827 and was a part of the bibliography of the man who was once the senator of Italy. However, it is set in Lombardy during the Spanish Rule in the 1620s and 1630s. The one thing that I think was probably the most notable thing about the book was the fact that this narrative was about people who are not rich, politically powerful or wealthy in any way, shape or form. The two main characters are incredibly unremarkable and thus, represent a sort of everyman through their ability to relate to the masses of the time at which they lived and the time at which the book was written.

The plot shows us that Lorenzo 'Renzo' is basically the sort of Jean Valjean character who, even after trying to keep things like his morality, gets attacks thrown at him by other people especially by people in higher positions than him. He is blamed for things he hasn't done, things he hasn't said and ultimately, all he wants to do is get married to the woman he loves. Her name is Lucia. They realise that if they want to survive, they must like Romeo and Juliet, plan a meticulous escape.

When they arrive in Milan, there seems to be even more of these attacks whilst a revolution and an attempted lynching seems to be going on. Renzo tries his best to find someone to marry him and his lover, Lucia, whilst again, he is treated like the underdog and scapegoat for a crime he didn't commit and is arrested after accidentally revealing his name and address whilst having a few drinks in a tavern.

All of this is an attempt to stop Renzo from marrying Lucia because he is poor. The whole thing is a conspiracy from those who know who he is and though Lucia believes in him and his sense of safety and resourcefulness, he is constantly shoved around by the system which favours the rich men, some of which have their eyes on Lucia and would rather marry her themselves - she is not interested in them and only wants Renzo as her husband.

The book moves through history, such as the Spanish Rule and the Thirty Years' War and the Plague of 1630. Each historical movement comes with new challenges for the poor everyman of Italy and thus, we get the ideas of suffering represented through the character of Renzo. This even happens when he isn't in the scene such as: when Lucia is forced to renounce him when he is not in her presence.

There are redemptive characters in the novel though that are constantly pushing against the bigger figures and through this, we witness the fall of certain characters in the novel and the question is about whether Renzo and Lucia would want these bad characters to actually fall as opposed to wanting them out of their lives. The thing is, Renzo and Lucia are not people who wish bad upon that many people, instead they try to make the best of a bad situation. They are the 'better' people out of cast of characters.

In conclusion, I think that this book though it is convoluted and often a bit dragged out, is beautifully written because of its ability to not only express the needs of the everyman but also its ability to tell a story about a character who has not yet had their story told in the wider literary narrative of the country.