From his youth, Sicilian baron Paolo Castorini, is as attracted to women as they to him. However, he feels dissatisfied with a life only of the body, compared to his journalist friend Vincenzo and his own father, a serious thinker.
From his youth, Sicilian baron Paolo Castorini, is as attracted to women as they to him. Servant girl Giovanna, serious girlfriend Lillian in Rome, a hostess at a post-war party--Paolo makes love to them all. He also feels dissatisfied with a life only of the body, compared to his journalist friend Vincenzo and his own father, a serious thinker. When his father is on his deathbed, Paolo learns of syphilis in the family and something of the curse of dissolution. Some years later, he resolves to marry Katrina, the pure daughter of the woman he should have married. He wants her purity to redeem him so he can make something of his life. But is it too late?—<[email protected]>
Paolo Castorini, a Sicilian baron, is as attracted to women as they are to him, beginning with the family servant Giovanna, when he is just a boy entering puberty.
When his sober and compassionate father Michele is on his deathbed, Paolo learns of a history of syphilis in the family and is warned about the curse of the dissolute life his grandfather and uncle enjoy. But true to form, Paolo beds his father's nurse while the rest of the family is celebrating his wake. When Paolo tells Edmondo of his intention to marry Anna, the niece of the local pharmacist, his uncle counsels Paolo to avoid marital commitments and live a life of physical pleasure, avoiding all responsibility. As if to make the point, Uncle Edmondo pops in to console the grieving (and love-starved) widow in the room next to Paolo's... while Paolo packs his bags for Rome.
There, Paolo catches up with his boyhood friend, Vincenzo, now a successful journalist. Vincenzo introduces him to Lilia, with whom he is immediately smitten. After a tempestuous affair, Paolo begins to chafe at Lilia's jealous possessiveness. Nevertheless, he has mixed feelings when she leaves him to marry a policeman.
We next find Paolo as a mature man, attending a party with other social elites where he has a risky quickie with his hostess, the Princess Banchedi... although he is actually attracted to a young communist named Ester. He tracks her down in a Roman slum, where they consummate the relationship.
By now Paolo is beginning to regret a life that has been centered around the seduction of women, yearning for the more intellectual life that Vincenzo has led.
When he returns to Catania for his mother's funeral, his father's deathbed words come back to him, "There is no happiness in our family, because happiness requires reason." He finally sees his family for what they are: mean, greedy and self-indulgent. And he meets Caterina, virginal daughter of the pharmacist's niece, Anna... the girl he should have married 20 years earlier. Paolo marries Caterina and takes her back to Rome, hoping to find redemption in her purity so that he can still make something of his life.
But is it too late? Can Vincenzo be right: Sicilians must do bad things to feel good?
