Essay on Morality and Egos in Radcliffes The Italian

Morality and Egos in The Italian The gothic tradition loves to play with the morality of a character and this explains ones egotistical tendencies. In Radcliffes Italian, no matter which side of the morality tree a character stands on, Satan has slipped a little pride in everyones apple. The role of doubles begins before Poe popularizes it. Radcliffe works hard to create evil twins and/or corresponding halves to some of the characters in order to demonstrate the power of pride. The gender roles of both male and female characters in The Italian do not always correlate to an archetype. Radcliffe bends not only the gender rules, but also the stature expectations of the reader to show each characters true moral state and†¦show more content†¦Jeronimo is a monk who sympathizes with Ellena and Vivaldi and helps them escape. Though Ratcliffe casts suspicion on him momentarily, the reader is soon informed that his gut instinct was correct. Jeronimo is a good monk. Jeronimo and Schedoni are the good and bad halves of the monk. Jeronimo, however, can take pride in the fact that he is holy and his brothers love him. His ego shines brightest in his boast, Do you [Vivaldi] not know that every brother in the convent would rise to avenge it [my death]? (137). One of the few characters in this book who lives up to his title, the faithful Paulo (106) is a wonderful servant. Unlike Bonarmo, he isnt very bright, but being the good servant, he is loyal to his master to the point of death. Both his intelligence (or lack thereof) and loyalty glow when he tells the guard of the Inquisition that no one comes to the Inquisition for fun (199). One of our main characters, Vivaldi, is also a man of virtue. He is very adoring of Ellena, unto the point of chivalry. Though a few times, he loses patience with her, for the most part, he lets her take her time and loves her just the same. He is a true storybook hero in that he risks his life for her (several times) and travels everywhere to find her. He never gives up hope, but is not so unrealistic that he appears stupid to the reader. The Machese is not mentioned much, but for the most part, he is a good guy. Like all the other characters