The Cloven Viscount (Italian: Il visconte dimezzato) is a fantasy novel written by Italo Calvino. It was first published by Einaudi (Turin) in 1952 and in English in 1962 by William Collins Sons & Company (New York), with a translation by Archibald Colquhoun.
Plot summary
The Viscount Medardo of Terralba, and his squire Kurt, ride across the plague-ravaged plain of Bohemia en route to join the Christian army in the Turkish wars of the seventeenth century. On the first day of fighting, a Turkish swordsman unhorses the inexperienced Viscount. Fearless, he scrambles over the battlefield with sword bared, and is split in two by a cannonball hitting him square in the chest.
As a result of the injury, Viscount Medardo becomes two people: Gramo (the Bad) and Buono (the Good). The army field doctors save Gramo through a stitching miracle, the Viscount is “alive and cloven.” [1] With one eye and a dilated single nostril, he returns to Terralba, twisting the half mouth of his half face into a scissors-like half smile. Meanwhile, a group of hermits find Buono in the midst of a pile of dead bodies. They tend to him and he recovers. After a long pilgrimage, Buono returns home.
There are now two Viscounts in Terralba. Gramo lives in the castle, Buono lives in the forest. Gramo causes damage and pain, Buono does good deeds. Pietrochiodo, the carpenter, is more adept at building guillotines for Gramo than the machines requested by Buono. Eventually, the villagers dislike both viscounts, as Gramo's malevolence provokes hostility and Buono's altruism provokes uneasiness.
Pamela, the peasant, prefers Buono to Gramo, but her parents want her to marry Gramo. She is ordered to consent to Gramo's marriage proposal. On the day of the wedding, Pamela marries Buono, because Gramo arrives late. Gramo challenges Buono to a duel to decide who shall be Pamela's husband. As a result, they are both severely wounded.
Dr. Trelawney takes the two bodies and sews the two sides together. Viscount finally is whole. He and his wife Pamela (now the Viscontessa) live happily together until the end of their days.
Characters
* Medardo, the Viscount of Terralba
* The narrator, Medardo’s young nephew
* Dr. Trelawney, the English court physician
* Pamela, the shepherdess
* Sebastiana, faithful nurse to the Viscount
* Pietrochiodo, the court carpenter
* Ezekiel, leader of a Huguenot colony
* Esau, Ezekiel’s son
* Ariolfo, the former Viscount of Terralba, Medardo’s father
* Kurt, Medardo’s squire
Trivia
In the name of the physician, Dr. Trelawney, you can see a tribute to Robert Louis Stevenson, author of the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), perhaps the most famous tale of split personality between good and evil. Stevenson also wrote Treasure Island (1883), one of whose characters is a certain Squire Trelawney.
Plot summary
The Viscount Medardo of Terralba, and his squire Kurt, ride across the plague-ravaged plain of Bohemia en route to join the Christian army in the Turkish wars of the seventeenth century. On the first day of fighting, a Turkish swordsman unhorses the inexperienced Viscount. Fearless, he scrambles over the battlefield with sword bared, and is split in two by a cannonball hitting him square in the chest.
As a result of the injury, Viscount Medardo becomes two people: Gramo (the Bad) and Buono (the Good). The army field doctors save Gramo through a stitching miracle, the Viscount is “alive and cloven.” [1] With one eye and a dilated single nostril, he returns to Terralba, twisting the half mouth of his half face into a scissors-like half smile. Meanwhile, a group of hermits find Buono in the midst of a pile of dead bodies. They tend to him and he recovers. After a long pilgrimage, Buono returns home.
There are now two Viscounts in Terralba. Gramo lives in the castle, Buono lives in the forest. Gramo causes damage and pain, Buono does good deeds. Pietrochiodo, the carpenter, is more adept at building guillotines for Gramo than the machines requested by Buono. Eventually, the villagers dislike both viscounts, as Gramo's malevolence provokes hostility and Buono's altruism provokes uneasiness.
Pamela, the peasant, prefers Buono to Gramo, but her parents want her to marry Gramo. She is ordered to consent to Gramo's marriage proposal. On the day of the wedding, Pamela marries Buono, because Gramo arrives late. Gramo challenges Buono to a duel to decide who shall be Pamela's husband. As a result, they are both severely wounded.
Dr. Trelawney takes the two bodies and sews the two sides together. Viscount finally is whole. He and his wife Pamela (now the Viscontessa) live happily together until the end of their days.
Characters
* Medardo, the Viscount of Terralba
* The narrator, Medardo’s young nephew
* Dr. Trelawney, the English court physician
* Pamela, the shepherdess
* Sebastiana, faithful nurse to the Viscount
* Pietrochiodo, the court carpenter
* Ezekiel, leader of a Huguenot colony
* Esau, Ezekiel’s son
* Ariolfo, the former Viscount of Terralba, Medardo’s father
* Kurt, Medardo’s squire
Trivia
In the name of the physician, Dr. Trelawney, you can see a tribute to Robert Louis Stevenson, author of the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), perhaps the most famous tale of split personality between good and evil. Stevenson also wrote Treasure Island (1883), one of whose characters is a certain Squire Trelawney.
The Baron in the Trees (1957, Il Barone Rampante) is an Italian novel by Italo Calvino. A metaphor for independence, it tells the adventures of a boy who will spend the rest of his adventurous life up in trees.
Characters
* Cosimo Piovasco di Rondo' (main character)
* Baron Arminio (Cosimo's father)
* Corradina (Cosimo's mother)
* Battista (Cosimo's elder sister)
* Biagio (Cosimo's younger brother)
* Abbot Fauchefleur (Cosimo and Biago's care-taker)
* Viola (the love of Cosimo's life)
Plot summary
The story is about a twelve-year-old boy named Cosimo Piovasco di Rondo', and is narrated by his younger brother, Biagio. It's set along the Ligurian Coast (the north-western coast of Italy, and commonly includes southern France because of the similarity in the scenery) in the eighteenth-century, in the town of Ombrosa. At the time, the regions of Italy haven't united yet, and the region along the Ligurian Coast isn't currently ruled by a legitimate king.
Biagio, Cosimo's brother and the narrator, provides the history of their family. Cosimo's father, Baron Arminio, married the General of the War of Succession (his mother), Corradina. La Guerra di Successione (the War of Succession) is a war between the Baron Arminio and an opposing family whom has equal rights to the throne. The parents who both have identical interests in claiming the throne agree to marry (even though they don't love each other) to give their children more rights to the throne.
The Baron, who is half-mad with a malicious streak, abuses his children constantly; and without the mother who is usually fighting in the war on horseback with the head general (Cosimo's grandfather), causes the children to run wild and misbehave.
In fact, Battista, the eldest sister of the three, used to be coaxed by Arminio to get married at a young age, so she decides to become a priestess, thus avoiding premature marriage. Without Battista, Arminio focuses on Cosimo (only twelve-years-old) and contrives a plan to betroth him to a grand-duchess he might find.
Battista is driven to insanity, and expresses this through her cooking. From toads to mice, rats to grasshoppers, Battista becomes the cook of the castle-like mansion in Ombrosa, and the Baron forces Cosimo and Biagio to eat the disgusting meals.
One day, when the Baron invites the Courts of France to lunch at noon, Battista arrives with her French cuisine new meal, snails. At the point where Arminio forces Cosimo to eat the snails, it becomes the turning point for him - the point where he can no longer handle his father's abuse.
Fleeing from the table, Cosimo uses his ability to climb up a live oak tree in the backyard - Cosimo and his eight-year-old brother Biagia often occupy their recreational time by climbing trees. Storming out of the house, with the other diners trailing behind, came the Baron scolding Cosimo for embarrassing him in front of the Court of France, who eats snails for a delicacy.
Excerpt from p. 15:
"Quando sarai stanco di star li' cambierai idea!" gli grido'.
"Non cambiero' mai idea," fece mio fratello, dal ramo.
"Ti faro' vedere io , appena scendi!"
"E io non scendero' piu'." E mantenne la parola.
English translation:
"When you are tired of staying there you will change your mind!" he shouted.
"I will never change my mind," said my brother, from the branch [of the live oak].
"I'll show you, now get down here!"
"And I will not come down, ever." And he kept his word.
With a spadino (little sword) and tricorno (cocked hat), Cosimo travels from branch to branch, and eventually reaches the boundary of his backyard, bordered by an enormous brick wall. On the opposite side live the Marchese (Marquis) and his family, with an enormous garden, like the Piovasco's, although with exotic plants from Asia, America (newly founded at the time), and apparently, even Australia (an imagined country at the time). Cosimo jumps from one of his trees to a foreign tree, Magnolia, into the D'Ondariva's garden. Cosimo slowly descends from tree to tree to the lowest branch, when he finally sees a blonde-haired girl on a see-saw (appearing ten-years-old).
From the branch, Cosimo uses his spadino (little sword) to pierce the apple in the girl's hand.
Ultimately, Cosimo finds a way to stay in the trees for most of his life.
Reception
While sometimes dismissed as a cute fable, this story finds its very strength in its ability to be read and analyzed on a number of levels: as a romance story, environmentally, narratologically, sociologically, and in questioning the role of the individual and the community. The novel received the Viareggio Prize in 1957. However, Calvino "refused the prize on the grounds that its acceptance simply helped shore up an outmoded institution, the literary prize!"
Characters
* Cosimo Piovasco di Rondo' (main character)
* Baron Arminio (Cosimo's father)
* Corradina (Cosimo's mother)
* Battista (Cosimo's elder sister)
* Biagio (Cosimo's younger brother)
* Abbot Fauchefleur (Cosimo and Biago's care-taker)
* Viola (the love of Cosimo's life)
Plot summary
The story is about a twelve-year-old boy named Cosimo Piovasco di Rondo', and is narrated by his younger brother, Biagio. It's set along the Ligurian Coast (the north-western coast of Italy, and commonly includes southern France because of the similarity in the scenery) in the eighteenth-century, in the town of Ombrosa. At the time, the regions of Italy haven't united yet, and the region along the Ligurian Coast isn't currently ruled by a legitimate king.
Biagio, Cosimo's brother and the narrator, provides the history of their family. Cosimo's father, Baron Arminio, married the General of the War of Succession (his mother), Corradina. La Guerra di Successione (the War of Succession) is a war between the Baron Arminio and an opposing family whom has equal rights to the throne. The parents who both have identical interests in claiming the throne agree to marry (even though they don't love each other) to give their children more rights to the throne.
The Baron, who is half-mad with a malicious streak, abuses his children constantly; and without the mother who is usually fighting in the war on horseback with the head general (Cosimo's grandfather), causes the children to run wild and misbehave.
In fact, Battista, the eldest sister of the three, used to be coaxed by Arminio to get married at a young age, so she decides to become a priestess, thus avoiding premature marriage. Without Battista, Arminio focuses on Cosimo (only twelve-years-old) and contrives a plan to betroth him to a grand-duchess he might find.
Battista is driven to insanity, and expresses this through her cooking. From toads to mice, rats to grasshoppers, Battista becomes the cook of the castle-like mansion in Ombrosa, and the Baron forces Cosimo and Biagio to eat the disgusting meals.
One day, when the Baron invites the Courts of France to lunch at noon, Battista arrives with her French cuisine new meal, snails. At the point where Arminio forces Cosimo to eat the snails, it becomes the turning point for him - the point where he can no longer handle his father's abuse.
Fleeing from the table, Cosimo uses his ability to climb up a live oak tree in the backyard - Cosimo and his eight-year-old brother Biagia often occupy their recreational time by climbing trees. Storming out of the house, with the other diners trailing behind, came the Baron scolding Cosimo for embarrassing him in front of the Court of France, who eats snails for a delicacy.
Excerpt from p. 15:
"Quando sarai stanco di star li' cambierai idea!" gli grido'.
"Non cambiero' mai idea," fece mio fratello, dal ramo.
"Ti faro' vedere io , appena scendi!"
"E io non scendero' piu'." E mantenne la parola.
English translation:
"When you are tired of staying there you will change your mind!" he shouted.
"I will never change my mind," said my brother, from the branch [of the live oak].
"I'll show you, now get down here!"
"And I will not come down, ever." And he kept his word.
With a spadino (little sword) and tricorno (cocked hat), Cosimo travels from branch to branch, and eventually reaches the boundary of his backyard, bordered by an enormous brick wall. On the opposite side live the Marchese (Marquis) and his family, with an enormous garden, like the Piovasco's, although with exotic plants from Asia, America (newly founded at the time), and apparently, even Australia (an imagined country at the time). Cosimo jumps from one of his trees to a foreign tree, Magnolia, into the D'Ondariva's garden. Cosimo slowly descends from tree to tree to the lowest branch, when he finally sees a blonde-haired girl on a see-saw (appearing ten-years-old).
From the branch, Cosimo uses his spadino (little sword) to pierce the apple in the girl's hand.
Ultimately, Cosimo finds a way to stay in the trees for most of his life.
Reception
While sometimes dismissed as a cute fable, this story finds its very strength in its ability to be read and analyzed on a number of levels: as a romance story, environmentally, narratologically, sociologically, and in questioning the role of the individual and the community. The novel received the Viareggio Prize in 1957. However, Calvino "refused the prize on the grounds that its acceptance simply helped shore up an outmoded institution, the literary prize!"
The Nonexistent Knight (Italian: Il cavaliere inesistente) is an allegorical fantasy novel by Italo Calvino, first published in Italian 1959 and in English translation in 1962. The novel tells the story of Agilulf, a medieval knight who perfectly exemplifies chivalry, piety, and faithfulness, but exists only as an empty suit of armor. It explores questions of identity, integration with society, and virtue.
Plot
The Nonexistent Knight is set in the time of Charlemagne, and draws material from the literary cycle known as the Matter of France, referencing Ariosto's Orlando Furioso. The knight Agilulf is a righteous, perfectionist, faithful and pious knight with only one shortcoming: he doesn't exist. Inside his armor there is no man, just an echoing voice that reverberates through the metal. Nevertheless, he serves the army of a Christian king out of "goodwill and faith in the holy cause".
Characters (In The English Version)
* Agilulf, the nonexistent knight.
* Gurduloo, a deranged man who becomes Agilulf's squire.
* Raimbaut, young noble who is obsessed with the idea of avenging his father by killing Argalif Isohar.
* Torrismund, a young knight who plays as Raimbaut's literary foil.
* Bradamante, a female knight, from Orlando Furioso.
* The narrator, Sister Theodora, a nun who is spinning Sir Agilulf's tale.
Themes
Agilulf does not exist as a person, but only as the fulfillment of the rules and protocols of knighthood. This theme is strongly connected to modern conditions: Agilulf has been described as "the symbol of the 'robotized' man, who performs bureaucratic acts with near-absolute unconsciousness."[1] The romance is also a bit of a satire, playing with the fact that Agilulf is both the ideal of man and nonexistent, along with many suggestions that Sister Theodora is actually making up most of the story. In the end, she must face that such a perfect knight could only live in one's imagination.
The idea of confusion of one's own identity with others and the outside world continued to be developed in Calvino's later works.[2]
Reception
The Nonexistent Knight was collected together with The Cloven Viscount and The Baron in the Trees in a single volume, Our Ancestors, for which Calvino was awarded the Salento Prize in 1960.[3] The book was adapted to film by the Italian director Pino Zac in 1970.
Plot
The Nonexistent Knight is set in the time of Charlemagne, and draws material from the literary cycle known as the Matter of France, referencing Ariosto's Orlando Furioso. The knight Agilulf is a righteous, perfectionist, faithful and pious knight with only one shortcoming: he doesn't exist. Inside his armor there is no man, just an echoing voice that reverberates through the metal. Nevertheless, he serves the army of a Christian king out of "goodwill and faith in the holy cause".
Characters (In The English Version)
* Agilulf, the nonexistent knight.
* Gurduloo, a deranged man who becomes Agilulf's squire.
* Raimbaut, young noble who is obsessed with the idea of avenging his father by killing Argalif Isohar.
* Torrismund, a young knight who plays as Raimbaut's literary foil.
* Bradamante, a female knight, from Orlando Furioso.
* The narrator, Sister Theodora, a nun who is spinning Sir Agilulf's tale.
Themes
Agilulf does not exist as a person, but only as the fulfillment of the rules and protocols of knighthood. This theme is strongly connected to modern conditions: Agilulf has been described as "the symbol of the 'robotized' man, who performs bureaucratic acts with near-absolute unconsciousness."[1] The romance is also a bit of a satire, playing with the fact that Agilulf is both the ideal of man and nonexistent, along with many suggestions that Sister Theodora is actually making up most of the story. In the end, she must face that such a perfect knight could only live in one's imagination.
The idea of confusion of one's own identity with others and the outside world continued to be developed in Calvino's later works.[2]
Reception
The Nonexistent Knight was collected together with The Cloven Viscount and The Baron in the Trees in a single volume, Our Ancestors, for which Calvino was awarded the Salento Prize in 1960.[3] The book was adapted to film by the Italian director Pino Zac in 1970.
Invisible Cities (Italian: Le città invisibili) is a novel by Italian writer Italo Calvino. It was published in Italy in 1972 by Giulio Einaudi Editore.
Description
The book explores imagination and the imaginable through the descriptions of cities by an explorer, Marco Polo. The book is framed as a conversation between the aging and busy emperor Kublai Khan, who constantly has merchants coming to describe the state of his expanding and vast empire, and Polo. The majority of the book consists of brief prose poems describing 55 cities, apparently narrated by Polo. Short dialogues between the two characters are interspersed every five to ten cities and are used to discuss various ideas presented by the cities on a wide range of topics including linguistics and human nature. The book structured around an interlocking pattern of numbered sections, while the length of each section's title graphically outlines a continuously oscillating sine wave, or perhaps a city skyline. The interludes between Khan and Polo are no less poetically constructed than the cities, and form a framing device, a story with a story, that plays with the natural complexity of language and stories.
Marco Polo and Kublai Khan do not speak the same language. When Polo is explaining the various cities, he uses objects from the city to tell the story. The implication is that that each character understands the other through their own interpretation of what they are saying. They literally are not speaking the same language, which leaves many decisions for the individual reader.
The book, because of its approach to the imaginative potentialities of cities, has been used by architects and artists to visualize how cities can be[1], their secret folds, where the human imagination is not necessarily limited by the laws of physics or the limitations of modern urban theory. It offers an alternative approach to thinking about cities, how they are formed and how they function.
The book was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1975.
The Travels of Marco Polo, Polo's travel diaries depicting his journeys through the Mongol Empire which were written in the 13th century, share with Invisible Cities the brief, often fantastic accounts of the cities Polo visits, accompanied by descriptions of the city's inhabitants, notable imports and exports, and whatever interesting tales Polo had heard about the region.
Description
The book explores imagination and the imaginable through the descriptions of cities by an explorer, Marco Polo. The book is framed as a conversation between the aging and busy emperor Kublai Khan, who constantly has merchants coming to describe the state of his expanding and vast empire, and Polo. The majority of the book consists of brief prose poems describing 55 cities, apparently narrated by Polo. Short dialogues between the two characters are interspersed every five to ten cities and are used to discuss various ideas presented by the cities on a wide range of topics including linguistics and human nature. The book structured around an interlocking pattern of numbered sections, while the length of each section's title graphically outlines a continuously oscillating sine wave, or perhaps a city skyline. The interludes between Khan and Polo are no less poetically constructed than the cities, and form a framing device, a story with a story, that plays with the natural complexity of language and stories.
Marco Polo and Kublai Khan do not speak the same language. When Polo is explaining the various cities, he uses objects from the city to tell the story. The implication is that that each character understands the other through their own interpretation of what they are saying. They literally are not speaking the same language, which leaves many decisions for the individual reader.
The book, because of its approach to the imaginative potentialities of cities, has been used by architects and artists to visualize how cities can be[1], their secret folds, where the human imagination is not necessarily limited by the laws of physics or the limitations of modern urban theory. It offers an alternative approach to thinking about cities, how they are formed and how they function.
The book was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1975.
The Travels of Marco Polo, Polo's travel diaries depicting his journeys through the Mongol Empire which were written in the 13th century, share with Invisible Cities the brief, often fantastic accounts of the cities Polo visits, accompanied by descriptions of the city's inhabitants, notable imports and exports, and whatever interesting tales Polo had heard about the region.
The Path to the Spiders' Nests (originally published in 1947 in Italian as Il sentiero dei nidi di ragno) was the first novel of Italian 20th century writer Italo Calvino and is a "coming of age" story, set against the backdrop of World War II.
The book follows the antihero Pin, an orphaned cobbler's apprentice in a town on the Ligurian coast, where he lives with his sister, a prostitute. After stealing a pistol from a Nazi sailor, Pin searches for an identity with a partisan group. All the while, the people he meets mock him without his knowing. The title refers to Pin's secret hiding place, directions to which he touts as a prize to any adults who win his trust.
Some critics view the work as unexceptional, on the grounds that it fails to address the issues other than from a very naive perspective; others credit it with being skillfully written and make a virtue of its portrayal of the complex emotions and politics of adults, as seen through the eyes of a child. However one passage about prisoners-of-war being made to dig their own grave before being shot is universally regarded as impressive.
The book follows the antihero Pin, an orphaned cobbler's apprentice in a town on the Ligurian coast, where he lives with his sister, a prostitute. After stealing a pistol from a Nazi sailor, Pin searches for an identity with a partisan group. All the while, the people he meets mock him without his knowing. The title refers to Pin's secret hiding place, directions to which he touts as a prize to any adults who win his trust.
Some critics view the work as unexceptional, on the grounds that it fails to address the issues other than from a very naive perspective; others credit it with being skillfully written and make a virtue of its portrayal of the complex emotions and politics of adults, as seen through the eyes of a child. However one passage about prisoners-of-war being made to dig their own grave before being shot is universally regarded as impressive.
如果在冬夜，一个旅人
作者:塔洛·卡尔维诺
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作者:塔洛·卡尔维诺
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在某海滨浴场洗海水浴时，伊佐塔太太遇上了一件麻烦事：当从深海游回岸边的途中，她突然发觉自己的游泳衣不在身上了。她弄不清事情是刚刚发生的，还是发生得有一阵儿了，总之，她穿的那件新比基尼泳装只剩下了胸罩。可能是她臀部扭动时，扣子脱落，那个像布条一般的三角裤衩从另一条大腿滑了下去，也许正在她身下不远处往下沉呢，她试图潜入水中去寻找，但没有成功。
这是正午时分，海里四处都是人，有的在赛艇上，有的在小游艇上，还有的在游泳。伊佐塔太太不认识任何人。昨天，她丈夫把她送到此地后立即又回城里去了。她心想，眼下别无他法，只能找一艘救生船，或者找一个可信赖的男子，向他呼喊和求救，并要求他严守秘密。好在没有人怀疑她下身赤裸，因为她游泳时，决不把身子抬到水面，人们只能看见她的头和隐约可见的胳膊和胸部。这样，她就可以放心地去寻求援救了。为了弄清别人的眼睛到底能看清她身体的多少，她时不时停下来，几乎垂直地漂浮着，以便窥视一下自己的躯体。她惊讶地发现，阳光照射在水面，又变成水下清澈的闪光，她躯体上的一切在水中纤毫毕现。她急忙拢住双腿，旋转着身体，试图不让自己的眼睛看见它，但这一切都是枉费心机：她腹部光洁的肌肤在棕色的胸部和大腿之间显得白皙、醒目，波浪的起伏和不时摇荡的海藻都不能混淆小腹以下部分的深色和浅色。伊佐塔太太重又以她那不伦不类的方式游动起来，尽可能压低身子，即便如此，每划动一下手臂。她那白皙的全身就显出来，轮廓清晰可见。伊佐塔太太心慌意乱，急忙变换游泳姿势和方向，夹紧双腿在水中打转。想不到她一向引为自豪的玉体现在却成了她的巨大累赘。
正午已过，是吃午餐的时候了，游泳者开始纷纷游向岸边。船只、游艇也不时从伊佐塔太太身边驶过。她研究船上男人的面孔，有时，她几乎下决心向他们游过去，但是，他们眼神那邪恶的一瞥，或者某种不友好的动作，都会吓得她逃之夭夭。她装作若无其事地划着双臂，冷静地掩饰着已经很严重的疲惫。结伴而行的男人扬扬下巴或使使眼色，互相示意她的存在，而单身男人则用一只桨刹住船，故意掉转船头，截住她的去路。她看见一个救生员经过，他是唯一乘船巡视海面、预防出现意外的人，但此人嘴唇肥厚、肌肉凸鼓，她连喊他一声的勇气都没有了。她幼想的救星应是一个最无个人情欲、几乎像天使一般纯洁的人，看来这样的救星是不存在的。
在绝望的幻想中，伊佐塔太太所盼望的救星一直是男的，却没有想过女的，虽然和女的打交道，一切都应该变得简单一些，但她与同性别的人交往太少。如今，还有一个不便之处：大多数女人都是和一个男人双双坐在小游艇上，她们忌妒心强，总是远离着她，因为她那无可挑剔的躯体对她们便是一种挑战。有的船只驶过来，上面满是唧唧喳喳、兴高采烈的少女们，伊佐塔太太想到自己那有伤大雅、有损声誉的困境与天真无邪的少女们在情趣上相去太远，因而没敢贸然呼喊她们。有一位皮肤晒得黝黑的金发女郎倒是独自坐着一只赛艇驶过来，她神气活现，一定是去深海作裸体太阳浴的，而她决不会认为这种裸露能算作丢人或灾难。伊佐塔太太此时才感到自己是多么孤独，女人永远不会救她，男人又找不到，她感到筋疲力尽了。
伊佐塔太太及时抓住了一个铁锈色的小浮标，要不然她会被淹死的。然而，从浮标那里游到岸边，要付出惊人的体力。这时，她看到一个穿长裤的瘦削男人站在一条停驶的汽艇上向海里张望，他是留在海上的唯一一个人了。过了一会儿，那个瘦男人不见了，站在原处的是一个满脸稚气的卷发男孩儿。伊佐塔太太用被水泡得起了皱、变得毫无血色的手指头抓住浮标的螺钉，感到自己被整个世界所抛弃。当她再次抬眼时，看见那个男人和小孩都一起站在汽艇上，向她打手势，似乎告诉她要老实呆在那里，挣扎是徒劳的。随即，汽艇飞快地开走了，艇上的人头也不回一下。伊佐塔太太此时感到了末日的来临……不一会儿，汽艇又开回来，速度比刚才还要快，小男孩在船头扬起一条窄长的绿帆：一条连衣裙！
当汽艇停在她附近时，瘦男人向她伸出一只手拉她上船，同时用另一手捂住自己的眼睛。伊佐塔太太还没明白过来是怎么回事，便已经上了船。一切忽然间变得这么完美，寒冷和恐惧已被抛诸脑后，她的脸色很快从苍白变得通红。此时，她站在船上穿那条连衣裙，而男人和小孩则背过身去，眼望别处。汽艇开动之后，伊佐塔太太坐在船头，看到船底有一个潜水捕鱼的面罩，明白了这了两人是怎样发现她的秘密的。刚才，男孩戴着面具，拿着鱼叉，潜水游泳时看见了她，便上船告诉了那个男人，男人又下水看了一遍，然后，他们示意她等待，不过，她当时没看懂。他们急忙向港口驶去，跟一个渔妇要了一件衣服来。伊佐塔太太心想，这两个人看到她现在穿着衣服，说不定脑子里正竭力回忆刚才在水下看她时的情景呢，不过，她并不感到难为情，反正总得有人看见，她倒高兴恰是被这两个善良人看见，他们一定会感到新鲜和愉快的！
这是正午时分，海里四处都是人，有的在赛艇上，有的在小游艇上，还有的在游泳。伊佐塔太太不认识任何人。昨天，她丈夫把她送到此地后立即又回城里去了。她心想，眼下别无他法，只能找一艘救生船，或者找一个可信赖的男子，向他呼喊和求救，并要求他严守秘密。好在没有人怀疑她下身赤裸，因为她游泳时，决不把身子抬到水面，人们只能看见她的头和隐约可见的胳膊和胸部。这样，她就可以放心地去寻求援救了。为了弄清别人的眼睛到底能看清她身体的多少，她时不时停下来，几乎垂直地漂浮着，以便窥视一下自己的躯体。她惊讶地发现，阳光照射在水面，又变成水下清澈的闪光，她躯体上的一切在水中纤毫毕现。她急忙拢住双腿，旋转着身体，试图不让自己的眼睛看见它，但这一切都是枉费心机：她腹部光洁的肌肤在棕色的胸部和大腿之间显得白皙、醒目，波浪的起伏和不时摇荡的海藻都不能混淆小腹以下部分的深色和浅色。伊佐塔太太重又以她那不伦不类的方式游动起来，尽可能压低身子，即便如此，每划动一下手臂。她那白皙的全身就显出来，轮廓清晰可见。伊佐塔太太心慌意乱，急忙变换游泳姿势和方向，夹紧双腿在水中打转。想不到她一向引为自豪的玉体现在却成了她的巨大累赘。
正午已过，是吃午餐的时候了，游泳者开始纷纷游向岸边。船只、游艇也不时从伊佐塔太太身边驶过。她研究船上男人的面孔，有时，她几乎下决心向他们游过去，但是，他们眼神那邪恶的一瞥，或者某种不友好的动作，都会吓得她逃之夭夭。她装作若无其事地划着双臂，冷静地掩饰着已经很严重的疲惫。结伴而行的男人扬扬下巴或使使眼色，互相示意她的存在，而单身男人则用一只桨刹住船，故意掉转船头，截住她的去路。她看见一个救生员经过，他是唯一乘船巡视海面、预防出现意外的人，但此人嘴唇肥厚、肌肉凸鼓，她连喊他一声的勇气都没有了。她幼想的救星应是一个最无个人情欲、几乎像天使一般纯洁的人，看来这样的救星是不存在的。
在绝望的幻想中，伊佐塔太太所盼望的救星一直是男的，却没有想过女的，虽然和女的打交道，一切都应该变得简单一些，但她与同性别的人交往太少。如今，还有一个不便之处：大多数女人都是和一个男人双双坐在小游艇上，她们忌妒心强，总是远离着她，因为她那无可挑剔的躯体对她们便是一种挑战。有的船只驶过来，上面满是唧唧喳喳、兴高采烈的少女们，伊佐塔太太想到自己那有伤大雅、有损声誉的困境与天真无邪的少女们在情趣上相去太远，因而没敢贸然呼喊她们。有一位皮肤晒得黝黑的金发女郎倒是独自坐着一只赛艇驶过来，她神气活现，一定是去深海作裸体太阳浴的，而她决不会认为这种裸露能算作丢人或灾难。伊佐塔太太此时才感到自己是多么孤独，女人永远不会救她，男人又找不到，她感到筋疲力尽了。
伊佐塔太太及时抓住了一个铁锈色的小浮标，要不然她会被淹死的。然而，从浮标那里游到岸边，要付出惊人的体力。这时，她看到一个穿长裤的瘦削男人站在一条停驶的汽艇上向海里张望，他是留在海上的唯一一个人了。过了一会儿，那个瘦男人不见了，站在原处的是一个满脸稚气的卷发男孩儿。伊佐塔太太用被水泡得起了皱、变得毫无血色的手指头抓住浮标的螺钉，感到自己被整个世界所抛弃。当她再次抬眼时，看见那个男人和小孩都一起站在汽艇上，向她打手势，似乎告诉她要老实呆在那里，挣扎是徒劳的。随即，汽艇飞快地开走了，艇上的人头也不回一下。伊佐塔太太此时感到了末日的来临……不一会儿，汽艇又开回来，速度比刚才还要快，小男孩在船头扬起一条窄长的绿帆：一条连衣裙！
当汽艇停在她附近时，瘦男人向她伸出一只手拉她上船，同时用另一手捂住自己的眼睛。伊佐塔太太还没明白过来是怎么回事，便已经上了船。一切忽然间变得这么完美，寒冷和恐惧已被抛诸脑后，她的脸色很快从苍白变得通红。此时，她站在船上穿那条连衣裙，而男人和小孩则背过身去，眼望别处。汽艇开动之后，伊佐塔太太坐在船头，看到船底有一个潜水捕鱼的面罩，明白了这了两人是怎样发现她的秘密的。刚才，男孩戴着面具，拿着鱼叉，潜水游泳时看见了她，便上船告诉了那个男人，男人又下水看了一遍，然后，他们示意她等待，不过，她当时没看懂。他们急忙向港口驶去，跟一个渔妇要了一件衣服来。伊佐塔太太心想，这两个人看到她现在穿着衣服，说不定脑子里正竭力回忆刚才在水下看她时的情景呢，不过，她并不感到难为情，反正总得有人看见，她倒高兴恰是被这两个善良人看见，他们一定会感到新鲜和愉快的！