Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay

Elena does not hear from Lila for several months. To compensate for the emptiness she feels at Lila’s absence, Elena strengthens her relationship with Mariarosa, and visits Milan more frequently. Mariarosa’s apartment has become a hub for women to gather and discuss feminism. Although Elena appreciates the community she finds there, the discussions tend towards conflict and dogmatism rather than camaraderie. One day while speaking to Mariarosa, Elena lights on a new topic for research: man’s perception of woman not as a separate being, but as part of himself. Mariarosa encourages Elena to write more on this topic. When Elena mentions that this is how she feels in her relationship with Pietro, Mariarosa laughs. According to Mariarosa, Pietro is weak-willed and incapable of imposing his ideas on anyone, let alone Elena, who is too smart for him; Mariarosa considers it a miracle that they are still together.

Mariarosa’s admission validates Elena’s unhappiness in her marriage but also depresses Elena, because she feels helpless to change her circumstances. Elena begins working on her new feminist writing project, and it revitalizes her. She cannot shake the urge, however, to involve Lila in it and regain the old joys of collaboration. Elena tells herself that she must be content with her own abilities. One day, Pietro arrives home with a surprise guest: Nino.

Elena is frazzled by Nino’s sudden appearance. To Elena’s surprise, Pietro and Nino quickly establish a rapport; Nino also charms Elena’s daughters. Seeing this, Elena relaxes and enjoys Nino’s presence. Nino must return to Naples but promises to call when he’s back in Florence the following week. After he leaves, Pietro comments that Nino is finally a person worth spending time with.

Elena feels depressed until Nino returns the following week and invites the whole family out to dinner. At the restaurant, Elena tells him about her current project; Nino is enthused, praising Elena’s natural talent and offering her titles of helpful books. Nino tells Pietro that he should give Elena more time to write. Pietro, annoyed, responds that Elena shouldn’t take time away from him. According to Pietro, true passion for a project is enough to overcome any obstacle. Elena, suppressing tears, discerns the true meaning of Pietro’s words: he feels that she has no legitimate interest in her research. After dinner, Pietro invites Nino to stay at their apartment when he returns to Florence the following month, and Nino accepts.

Elena admits to herself that she is still attracted to Nino. She fears that attraction will become apparent if Nino stays in their home, but at the same time, the idea thrills her. Elena throws herself into her work; the thought of winning Nino’s praise motivates her. The next month, Nino finally calls and invites the family to dinner the following night; however, he won’t stay with them this time as planned, as his wife and son are with him.

Elena is angry at the thought of meeting Nino’s wife. She fears she will be compared to Nino’s wife and inevitably found lacking. Elena considers skipping the dinner, but ultimately resolves to go. Before she leaves, she places a copy of her essay in her purse.

Elena and her family meet Nino and his wife, Eleonora, and their son, Albertino, at the restaurant. Elena’s anxieties vanish: Eleonora is rude, homely, and speaks in a loud, harsh Neapolitan accent. Elena imagines to herself that perhaps Eleonora and Albertino are merely pieces of Nino’s life, not where his heart truly lies. At the end of dinner, Eleonora asks Elena to take her to see the shops while the men work the following day. After dinner, Elena gives Nino her manuscript out of sight of the others.

Nino calls Elena early the next morning with feedback on her manuscript: He found it extraordinary and encourages her to publish it. Nino promises that he will talk more with her when he next returns to Florence, and he agrees to stay with Elena and Pietro this time. Before he hangs up, Nino tells Elena that he was mistaken in his attraction to Lila as a youth. The qualities he admired in Lila were qualities he had first admired in Elena, and then only seemed to find in Lila. He tells Elena that she, too, has attributed too much of her own talents to Lila. Elena isn’t sure how to react; she wonders if Nino is trying to tell her that he should have loved her when they were teenagers. Elena tells Nino to come back soon.

Elated by Nino’s words, Elena finds her time with Eleonora at the shops bearable. A few days after the Sarratores return to Naples, Elena sends a copy of her essay to Adele and Mariarosa. Shortly thereafter, Nino calls and tells Elena that he’s in Florence and will come by to drop his bag off before going to the library. Elena invites him to have lunch with her and the children.

Elena enjoys Nino’s company during his 10-day stay. She feels no desire to flirt with him and is careful to treat him without any undue intimacy. Nino continues to praise Elena’s writing, which pleases her. Elena is struck by how natural it feels to be with him and the children. One day when she and Nino are out for a walk with the children, an acquaintance of Nino’s happens by and praises Nino for the children as if they were his. 

Nino’s rapport with Pietro takes an abrupt and inexplicable turn. Nino criticizes Pietro for his ideas and speaks to him in a mocking and condescending way; Pietro is confused and feels humiliated. Deep inside, Elena enjoys seeing Pietro, the son of a well-educated upper-class family, cowed by Nino, born in the lower-class neighborhood of Naples just like Elena.

Nino praises Elena’s writing one night at dinner. After Pietro admits he hasn’t read it, Nino tells Pietro he wouldn’t understand it because Pietro is less intelligent than Elena. Pietro, angered, leaves the table. Later, Nino asks Elena how she can stand Pietro. Elena, alarmed, responds only that she loves Pietro. On the final night of Nino’s visit, Pietro returns from work, furious with Elena, and tells her to never again bring people from the neighborhood to their home. Elena is confused; Pietro explains that the police came to the university again and showed Pietro photographs of wanted terrorists, including Nadia and Pasquale. Nino calls Pietro an informer. Furious, Pietro retreats to the bedroom, where he takes a sleeping pill and does not return for the rest of the evening. After dinner, Elena asks Nino to stay a little longer. Nino asks Elena why she defends Pietro.

Elena is depressed by the thought of returning to life without Nino but admits that Nino was the one who created the strife between him and Pietro. As she prepares for bed, Elena wonders what drove Nino to behave as he did and realizes that Nino wanted to break down Elena’s image of Pietro. This angers Elena; Nino had no right to upset the equilibrium of her home, or to decide that she needed rescuing from her marriage. She decides to tell Nino that their friendship can’t continue if he doesn’t reconcile with Pietro. Elena goes to Nino’s room, intending to tell him right that moment. When she enters, Nino says only “You’ve decided” (386). Without a second thought, Elena undresses and joins him in bed.

Elena feels foolish and resolves that she and Nino must not continue their intimacy. However, her desire for him is too strong, and she gives into the temptation to start an affair with him.

Elena contemplates leaving Pietro, but the details of doing so are complicated. Elena considers moving to Naples and relying on Nino’s network for support, but she realizes that it would be ridiculous for her to go chasing after a married man. In the meantime, Nino and Elena talk on the phone daily; Nino plans to come and see Elena after Eleonora and Albertino leave for vacation on Capri. Elsa asks who Elena is talking to on the phone all the time; Dede tells her sister to “leave her alone, she’s talking to her boyfriend” (392).

Nino arrives in Florence just as Elena is preparing to leave for vacation at Viareggio with Pietro and the girls. Elena sneaks away and joins Nino outside the apartment in his car, where the two kiss passionately. They make plans to keep in touch throughout the month of August and to secretly rendezvous back in Florence while their families are on vacation.

After some time at Viareggio, Elena invents an excuse to return to Florence, where she and Nino meet at the empty apartment and have intercourse. Afterwards, Elena is troubled by the thought that this experience with Nino is a novelty for her, Nino has already been with many women: Nadia, Mariarosa, Silvia, Eleonora, and Lila among them. Elena asks Nino if she, like Lila, is made badly when it comes to sex. Nino grows tense at the question and denies having said that about Lila. At the end of their stay together, Nino invites Elena to go with him to a five-day conference in Montpellier in October. Elena declines, as it would be impossible with two young daughters to care for. Realizing the gravity of their situation, Elena despairingly suggests that perhaps she and Nino shouldn’t see each other anymore. Nino protests, but Elena can’t continue like this. The two part with the tensions between them unresolved.

Pietro questions Elena when she returns to Viareggio; Dede told him that Elena has a boyfriend. Elena brushes him off, but Pietro remains suspicious. Although Elena resolved not to continue her affair with Nino, she breaks down and calls him, and the two return to their old routines. The Montpellier conference remains a point of contention between them. Finally, Elena tells Nino that she will only go with him to Montpellier if they both confess the affair to their respective spouses. Nino is hesitant to destroy his family, but Elena responds that she would be taking the same risk. Finally, Nino alludes to the fact that to end his relationship with Eleonora would be to lose many comforts and privileges he enjoys in Naples. His last point strikes Elena the hardest: Nino says that if they go public with their relationship, they will both lose their valuable connections with the Airotas. Hurt by Nino’s excuses and this last remark in particular, Elena ends their relationship.

Elena spends the next several days weeping constantly, attempting to hide it from Pietro and the girls. When Dede and Elsa see Elena sobbing after her phone call with Nino, Elena tells them it’s because their grandmother (Elena’s mother) isn’t well. Unbeknownst to Elena, Dede mentions this to Pietro, who calls Elena’s mother and finds out it’s not true. Pietro confronts Elena on the last night of their vacation. When Elena tries to brush him off, Pietro asks her directly what there is between her and Nino.

Elena screams at Pietro and blames him for the predicament. She accuses him of entrapping her in a stagnant marriage and declares her long-standing love for Nino, which has revitalized her. Pietro is horrified; he asks Elena if she and Nino have slept together and, feeling sorry for Pietro, Elena says no.

Elena considers how to leave Pietro. Nino begins calling again not long after Elena and her family return from Viareggio. Elena calls him back during a rare moment when Pietro is not home. Eleonora answers, and Elena is shocked when Eleonora calls her a whore. Eleonora tells Elena to leave Nino alone or she’ll smash Elena’s face in.

At first Elena is furious at Eleonora, but then she realizes what Eleonora’s reaction means: Nino told her about their affair. Nino calls back a few moments later and Elena, elated, agrees to meet him in Rome to fly to Montpellier in October.

Elena feels invincible and confesses all to Pietro, telling him that she is leaving him for Nino. Pietro shouts, weeps, and even smashes a glass table, frightening Dede and Elsa. Despite all of this, Elena is tranquil; she feels that the present strife is necessary for her transformation into the person she wants to be. Pietro insists that Elena must tell the truth to the girls if she wants to leave. Pietro summons Dede and Elsa, and bitterly tells them that their mother no longer loves their father and is leaving them all for Uncle Nino. Elena tries to interject and explain that she is not leaving the girls, but Dede, distressed by her parents’ quarreling, runs from the room and Elsa follows her. That night, Dede, now six years old, regresses to wetting the bed and wanting to sleep with Elena. Elena realizes the sudden, intense fear of abandonment her separation from Pietro has sown within their daughters.

Pietro and Elena argue about Elena going to Montpellier. Pietro breaks down and confesses that he caught his mother cheating on his father as a child, and it scarred him. Elena thinks this story is intended only to manipulate Elena’s guilt as a mother. Meanwhile, Nino is no help; when Elena complains to him, he says that his situation with Eleonora is equally bad, if not worse. Five days before she is to leave for Montpellier, Elena tells Pietro that she is going, and they will see what to do when she returns. Pietro scathingly tells the girls that Elena is leaving for a few days, but he doesn’t believe that she will come back. When he asks if they believe her, the girls throw themselves at Elena and beg her not to leave them. Elena soothes them, and everyone calms down. The day before her departure, Elena writes letters to Pietro and her daughters, stocks the fridge with food, and secretly packs her bags.

Lila unexpectedly calls Elena and tells her that Manuela Solara was murdered. In the wake of her death, Marcello and Michele have become reckless, and are sending their henchmen out to exact a bloody revenge upon the killer. The neighborhood is in turmoil, and Lila wants to send Gennaro to Elena to keep him away from the chaos. Elena tells Lila that she is leaving Pietro for Nino. Lila is shocked; she berates Elena for leaving all the opportunity she has with Pietro just to be with Nino. Lila says that Nino will only use Elena, and then abandon her. Lila says that she had imagined that Elena could live a good life for her too, but she was wrong: Elena is a fool.

Elena is furious over Lila’s words to her, but the feeling quickly dissipates when Nino calls. Elena tells Nino that she was unable to reach a calm agreement with Pietro, and that she’s packed her bags and is ready to leave immediately. The next day, while Pietro is at work, Elena leaves the girls with a neighbor and places the letters to her family on the kitchen table before departing for Rome. Elena and Nino board the plane for Montpellier, and as it takes off, Elena is aware of the wondrous and thrilling turn her life has taken.