C. Vacheret, «Photolangage», oggetto mediatore e libera associazione (original) (raw)

The moral of Shelley's poem, which gives the title to the novel, is simple: the veil of life should not be lifted, because underneath there is no truth, nothing for which it would be worth making this effort. Without a doubt, it is a terribly pessimistic vision. But, as we shall see, in the novel this vision coincides only partially with the pessimism of the poem. In fact, Kitty Garstin raises the veil of her life and discovers what she has been until then: daughter of a weak father and a selfish mother, unfaithful wife of a resentful and lover of a shameless man. So life that seemed beautiful, full of colors and charm, reveals its true face and presents itself as something false, deceptive and superficial. In other words, Kitty realizes that until then she had not made any decision on her own, even if she did not realize it and was convinced she was free. On the other hand, by discovering her life, Kitty is able to first glimpse that a new existence is possible, and she strongly desires it for her and for the daughter he is waiting for. In this sense we can consider this novel as a descent into the depths of the human heart, crushed under layers of social stereotypes, personal prejudices and, in general, hypocrisy.