The Landlady: text analysis, summary, characters and plot of Goldoni’s opera with references to his theatre reform.The Landlady is one of Goldoni ‘s most important works and is set in the 18th century. Goldoni was born in Venice in 1707. After graduating and practicing law for a few years, he devoted himself to his true passion: theatre. After writing some comedies of art , Goldoni began to introduce a reform into the world of theatre , which would change it completely. Having failed to have success in Italy, Goldoni brought his reform to France, where he began to fight against the commedia dell’Arte again . This fight, however, did not last long, because Goldoni died in 1793.
Plot
La Locandiera represents the result of Goldoni’s reform which, in addition to entertainment, makes the spectator reflect a lot on the character of the characters. In fact, the theme of the comedy is the theme of the seduction of love understood as a human and deceptive feeling. The comedy has as its protagonist Mirandolina , owner of an inn in Florence.
All the clients fall at the girl’s feet, struck, especially by her uncommon bearing. Among these, the most important suitors are: the Marquis of Forlipopoli , who has lost all his wealth; the Count of Albafiorita , who is a nouveau riche and the Knight of Ripafratta, a rich and noble man who, however, despises women. And it is precisely with the latter that Mirandolina rages , showing off her charm, because the girl wants to humiliate him completely. In the end, she succeeds in making the knight fall in love too, by implementing small strategies, such as false pains or fainting.
Conclusion
The story ends a bit bitterly for Mirandolina . In fact, the knight, in order to have her, is willing to use violence and so, the beautiful Mirandolina, takes cover, marrying Fabrizio, her only employee, to whom her father had entrusted her before dying.
The Landlady: Characters
The Marquis of Forlipopoli
The Marquis of Forlipopoli represents a nobleman who only retains his title as a nobleman, as he has lost all his wealth. However, he still wants to show off his old privileges. In fact, he offers protection to Mirandolina and gives her the paltry possessions he possesses, such as the silk handkerchief and the wine of Cyprus, believed to be the nectar of the Gods, which later turns out to be a “rinse of whistles” that he harshly gives to the other characters .
The Marquis takes this attitude because he does not want to feel inferior to the Count of Albafiorita . The latter is a nouveau riche who has bought himself the noble title and who gives Mirandolina very showy jewels, a sign of his poor taste.
In fact, not being able to count on the prestige of his blood, he seeks revenge in wealth. Precisely because he tries to solve everything with money, he has something unpleasant and vulgar.
The Knight of Ripafratta
Knight of Ripafratta , who retains both the title and the money. He is a man who wants to mark and preserve the differences between social classes, as can be seen from his harshness with Mirandolina. He wants everything to be owed to him and is a man who deeply hates women.
In fact, at the beginning he himself offers a lesson in aristocratic behavior to Mirandolina’s other suitors, behaving in an odious manner. So even when he gives in to love for Mirandolina, he immediately wants the girl by imposing orders on her.
Fabrizio
Fabrizio is the last man in the comedy in love with Mirandolina. He is the girl’s only employee and loves her madly. He is a character from the countryside who, however, by marrying the mistress, will become a manager and this is an example of bourgeois opportunism.
Hydrangea and Dejanira
Ortensia and Dejanira are two actresses who present themselves at the inn as ladies, but are immediately unmasked by Mirandolina. In fact, they are two actresses who act badly and through them Goldoni makes an open criticism of the commedia dell’Arte, where actors were stereotyped unlike real actors, like Mirandolina who have their own characteristics and character differences.
Mirandolina
Mirandolina is the absolute protagonist of the comedy. She is a bourgeois and like all bourgeois there is in her a certain attachment to money, which characterizes her behavior with her customers. In fact, to ingratiate herself with the customers she exploits her beauty by giving herself metaphorically, never physically, since this would have compromised her reputation and the business of the inn. Mirandolina , moreover, is aware of her linguistic and behavioral skills. This cynicism of hers is revealed in the “asides”. Mirandolina is always polite and courteous and uses perfect language, but when she speaks to herself she reveals her real intentions and her vulgarity of character, rich in nuances.
The Landlady: analysis
The Innkeeper offers the viewer a snapshot of contemporary society at that time and the characters represent all the fundamental social classes.
Critics have said that La Locandiera is a “ comedy within a comedy ” thanks to Mirandolina’s acting skills with the other characters.
Another nuance of Mirandolina is the obsession of power over others. She is characterized by a sentimental aridity , because rather than love, she plays with the feelings of her suitors. The object of esteem towards Mirandolina, by the author, is her industriousness and her industriousness in running the inn. Even if she is the boss, she takes care of ironing, cooking and personally welcoming the customers.
Setting and time
The story takes place over the time span of a day , and a linear and continuous time, without interruptions or time jumps. The arrival of the Knight of Ripafratta begins. The place is realistic, as it is an inn located in the city of Florence . Numerous objects appear in the scene that evoke the social environment:
- The showy and very expensive jewels given to him by the Count of Albafiorita are a sign of his attachment to money and his poor taste, since he is a nouveau riche.
- The silk handkerchief donated by the Marquis and kept as a relic of his past wealth, as well as the wine from Cyprus, reveal his desire to still preserve his noble origins, even if he was now poor .
- The golden ” boccettino ” with Melissa’s spirit inside, given to Mirandolina by the knight, makes him descend to the rank of all the other suitors.
The inn also features objects that evoke a comfortable bourgeois well-being , such as the “rensa” sheets, the “fiandra” tablecloths, the “Borgogna” wine, while the laundry and the iron give an image of everyday popular life.
The end of the comedy cannot be considered a real triumph for Mirandolina. The system she had created to win over her clients falls when she falls in love with the Knight. The latter in fact puts the girl in grave danger as her honor is threatened because the knight, accustomed to having everything, is willing to use even violence to possess Mirandolina.
Language and style
The style is simple and fluent, the language is common as the work is in Florentine dialect, it should be noted that the latter is in prose.
Goldoni, as I have already said, after having written some comedies of the art, got bored of his works because the comedy of the art had two fundamental characteristics: the improvisation of the actors who drew their lines, since in the total absence of a script, from stereotyped remains, with the consequent repetition of the same things in all the works; the use of masks, also stereotyped and therefore repeated in all the works.
The Landlady: Moral
The moral of The Landlady revolves around several key themes, including the power of female intelligence, criticism of gender stereotypes, and the illusion of love.
Through the character of Mirandolina, Goldoni shows how an intelligent and independent woman can manage men and their attentions without ever losing control of the situation. The comedy shows that love can be a weapon of seduction and power, but also an illusion that can make even the most cynical vulnerable, as happens to the Knight of Ripafratta.
Furthermore, the work represents a criticism of the society of the time, in which women were often considered only in function of marriage. Mirandolina, instead, chooses freedom and pragmatism, marrying the faithful waiter Fabrizio not for love, but to maintain her economic independence.
In short, the moral of the comedy can be seen as a praise of female cunning and independence, as well as a reflection on human fragility in the face of the play of emotions.
The Goldoni Reform
Goldoni, tired, implements the reform of the theater and takes five years to give life to a written text again. He encounters various resistances:
- on the part of the actors who, always reciting the same things, were now living off their income;
- from critics who now loved the Commedia dell’Arte;
- from the public, who, seeing the same things, no longer tried to understand the works, but only thought about having fun.
Goldoni, on the other hand, wanted comedy to return to having a serious and reflective meaning.
With his comedies Goldoni, criticized the closed aristocratic society of that time, he addressed especially the Venetian aristocracy. Precisely for this reason Goldoni’s comedies are never set in Venice but in other parts of Italy such as the Locandiera which is set in Florence because the same would have been subject to censorship.
Not being understood in Italy, after having performed the comedy “One of the Last Evenings of Carnival”, a comedy in which he made an open criticism of the aristocracy, he took refuge in Paris, where he began the fight against the Commedia dell’Arte again.
This strong hatred against the aristocracy was due to the Enlightenment period in which Goldoni lived, which was characterized by a revenge of the bourgeois society. Goldoni spent his entire life against the Commedia dell’Arte, failing to do so, but becoming the greatest Italian playwright of the 18th century.
