Some Reflections On The Conclusion To La Chartreuse de Parme

The conclusion to Stendhal's La Chartreuse de Parme creates a sombre, despondent mood, with most of the principal characters dead. The death of the young child Sandrino is particularly dispiriting in the light of his manifest blamelessness for all that has gone before. This article draws a parallel between Sandrino's death and the (temporary?) demise of Mazzini's Giovine Italia within the context of the post-1815 Restoration. However, it is argued here that the Parma of this novel represents an implicit invitation to the reader to reject the values and repression of Restoration Europe, to replace them with a new vision of what Italy could be. (AEG)