L'amore che torna: romanzo

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

38720

Title

L'amore che torna: romanzo

Language

it

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

Set in turn-of-the-century Rome, this novel explores the complex emotional landscape of a wealthy patrician torn between his devoted wife, Elena, and his past love, Edoarda. Through intimate dialogues and introspective monologues, the narrative dissects themes of memory, the nature of true love versus fleeting passion, and the moral compromises required by social status. Guido da Verona crafts a melancholic yet elegant tale of a man who realizes that while he can possess many sensations, only the memory of a...

Summary up to 500 words

In Guido da Verona's *L'amore che torna* (Love Returns), a wealthy Roman nobleman navigates the complex aftermath of a tragic past while married to Elena, a rising actress. The narrative oscillates between his current domestic life and the haunting memories of Edoarda, a woman he once loved but who died after a period of illness and separation. The story begins with a tense evening where Elena, having forgotten their appointment, reveals her own complexities and hints at a potential departure, leaving the narrator grappling with the fear of losing her to the public eye. He reflects on his history of romantic detachment, admitting he has never truly loved deeply until now, yet he struggles to reconcile his feelings for Elena with the ghost of Edoarda. As Elena prepares for her theatrical debut, the narrator feels a profound sense of loss, fearing she will become a public figure rather than his private world. The narrative shifts to a letter from Edoarda's sister, Capuano, revealing that Edoarda has recovered and is living a quiet life, a fact that disturbs the narrator's sense of closure. He debates whether to return to Edoarda or accept his fate with Elena, ultimately concluding that he cannot abandon Elena but must acknowledge the eternal, spiritual nature of his love for the deceased. The novel concludes with a surreal section where the narrator speaks directly to his undertaker, confessing that he loved the woman who died, Edoarda, more than his living wife, Elena. He instructs the undertaker to tell the mourners that he loved the 'lost' one, distinguishing between the physical reality of his marriage and the spiritual truth of his heart. The text ends with a celebration of his family's restored fortune and the birth of a child, suggesting a future where he must live with the duality of his existence: a faithful husband by day, and a man haunted by a past love that he can never truly forget. The work explores themes of memory, the conflict between social duty and spiritual truth, and the enduring power of lost love.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

Download URL

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38720.epub.noimages

Local file path

data/epubs/pg38720.epub

Removed after upload

Downloaded at

2026-07-01 13:25 UTC

Categories

• Romance
• Fiction