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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I’m not a huge historical fiction fan; I picked this up hoping for more intrigue around the supposed murder of a young aristocrat. Learned a lot about this era and the writing was good, if a bit slow, just had difficulty with the feeling that modern-day feminism was being applied to these women centuries ago. Displeased with the ending. Definitely want to go see Lucretia’s portrait in Raleigh, though.
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING
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Consensus seems to be that Lucrezia escapes at the end with Emilia dying in her place but I finished this book in floods of tears with a different ending.
Just as the first few pages of The Marriage Portrait warn the reader this is a story of Lucrezia's death, I believe she did indeed die. She was killed by her husband and her happier ending was an imaginary vision.
Where's Emilia? She never reached Lucrezia, she never took a horse and navigated her way, slipped out and followed the trail of the painters. Emilia is not discovered by Alfonso or anyone else (despite the fact that she would have had to get inside the building to start with) because she is a figment of Lucrezia's imagination as her last comfort in a terrifying time. The poison perhaps, a hallucination?
Didn't the painters leave the door open? Lucrezia makes that initial connection with Jacopo when she saves his life. Her whole life, Lucrezia has had her life arranged for her and the hope that Jacopo symbolises of another life that she chooses to make is too strong. I don't believe Jacopo came back to let Lucrezia know he would leave the door open or they would run away - Jacopo painted the last marker of Lucrezia in her portrait, to persist after her death, and in her imagined future he helps her persist into a new life as they run away together.
When Lucrezia hides in the shadow and she is unseen - this is consistent with the running thread of Lucrezia imagining herself out of body in times of trauma. She watches the moments leading up to her own death like the reader does in the description of her murder.
All that's left is the titular marriage portrait, the imposing ethereal figure that Lucrezia cannot reconcile completely with herself. The final words of the book, the details about paintings being scraped back to see some secret hidden beneath reflect the tragic thread of Lucrezia's life. We as readers know her story, we've just read it with mouths open. To everyone else in Lucrezia's universe, she is nothing but the portrait displayed on the wall with no one to scrape the paint back and see what truly lies beneath.
*
*
*
*
*
Consensus seems to be that Lucrezia escapes at the end with Emilia dying in her place but I finished this book in floods of tears with a different ending.
Just as the first few pages of The Marriage Portrait warn the reader this is a story of Lucrezia's death, I believe she did indeed die. She was killed by her husband and her happier ending was an imaginary vision.
Where's Emilia? She never reached Lucrezia, she never took a horse and navigated her way, slipped out and followed the trail of the painters. Emilia is not discovered by Alfonso or anyone else (despite the fact that she would have had to get inside the building to start with) because she is a figment of Lucrezia's imagination as her last comfort in a terrifying time. The poison perhaps, a hallucination?
Didn't the painters leave the door open? Lucrezia makes that initial connection with Jacopo when she saves his life. Her whole life, Lucrezia has had her life arranged for her and the hope that Jacopo symbolises of another life that she chooses to make is too strong. I don't believe Jacopo came back to let Lucrezia know he would leave the door open or they would run away - Jacopo painted the last marker of Lucrezia in her portrait, to persist after her death, and in her imagined future he helps her persist into a new life as they run away together.
When Lucrezia hides in the shadow and she is unseen - this is consistent with the running thread of Lucrezia imagining herself out of body in times of trauma. She watches the moments leading up to her own death like the reader does in the description of her murder.
All that's left is the titular marriage portrait, the imposing ethereal figure that Lucrezia cannot reconcile completely with herself. The final words of the book, the details about paintings being scraped back to see some secret hidden beneath reflect the tragic thread of Lucrezia's life. We as readers know her story, we've just read it with mouths open. To everyone else in Lucrezia's universe, she is nothing but the portrait displayed on the wall with no one to scrape the paint back and see what truly lies beneath.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
While the first page was absolutely gripping, I found it difficult at times to find myself trapped in Lucrezia’s world. At times I was bogged down by the details of gowns, piazzas, and landscapes instead of becoming immersed in Lucrezia’s impending death. However, I really did enjoy seeing a glimpse of the lives of Italian nobility and how a delicate political dance was needed in order to survive. What a sad story that likely told the tale of a thousand women. My favorite part? The author’s note.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No