The Marble Faun

Donatello and Kenyon visit a Gothic church and admire the frescoes and stained-glass windows as a “true symbol of the glories of the better world” (223). Donatello dwells on thoughts of sin, remorse, and punishment.

The two friends arrive in Perugia in the morning. They walk the streets of the city and witness a country fair in the piazza. They come to the statue of Pope Julius and Kenyon tells Donatello that “the pope’s blessing, methinks, has fallen upon you” (230). Donatello is already exhibiting a “healthier spirit,” and he looks at the statue with “a serene and hopeful expression” (23). The clock strikes noon, the time Miriam is supposed to meet them.

Kenyon happens upon Miriam standing underneath the statue, feeling nervous and uncertain about meeting Donatello. Donatello at first ignores her. Miriam tells Kenyon that Hilda is alone in Rome and “depressed in spirits” (234). Kenyon vows to go to her.

Then Donatello speaks Miriam’s name. Miriam tells him to forget her because of the murder, but Donatello says that their “lot lies together” (234). They are both worried that a relationship founded on a murder, a “bond of guilt” (236), is inherently evil.

Kenyon offers his point of view: Miriam and Donatello need each other for moral and spiritual support. He warns, however, that their relationship will be “for effort, for sacrifice, but not for earthly happiness” (235). They must live for “mutual elevation, and encouragement towards a severe and painful life” filled with “toil, sacrifice, prayer, penitence” (236). Also, each should be willing to sacrifice the other for a higher moral end. Miriam and Donatello agree to this and take each other’s hands as a pledge of their union. The three friends bid each other farewell.