Artemisia

Artemisia is a brilliant novel about the story of two women, who have connected with one another by sharing an unshakable feeling of sorrow. The author, Anna Banti, has just witness the destruction of her home and ones around it by the cruel war raging around her, thanks to the Fascist regime in 1944. Inside her home was a manuscript of a novel she had written, about a historical figure named Artemesia Gentileschi, who lived in the 1500's. The novel, however, was more of a fictional biography than an actual biography, which details which it is impossible to know were filled in by it's author. This quality of her novel, however, comes to cause conflict for Artemisia, who "appears" in the present day to have a conversation with Banti about her past. When speaking with each other, each telling bits and pieces of the story, Artemisia at some points does not wish to believe that Banti is telling the truth. While they both have tended to create events about Artemisia's past, the general course of her story is rather clear: From a young age Artemisia was a very boisterous child and not very girly. As she grew older she attempted to fit in with young women her age, but when she was repeatedly raped by a friend of her father's she reverted back to her was of not being the typical woman. I will not summarize the entire novel, but is filled with self-doubt, identity crises, the loss of loved ones, contradictions between thoughts and actions, disappointments, and sorrows that seem impossible to overcome.

I have a theory that Artemisia is in love with her father, and her brother Francesco is in love with her. The way Artemisia admires her father is similar to the way one would admire every little characteristic of a lover. This adoration is evident in the following quote: "It is only a moment, but long enough for her to desparingly adore those clothes dampened by the night breeze, the hand that has painted all day long, that has held a glass and broken bread, far from her eyes: the severe brow, the unintentionally withering glance that is immediately withdrawn towards inner, mysterious satisfactions." She pays very close attention to him, and focuses on small things, especially his hands. A few lines after this, she states, "The truth is simple, honest, but Artemisia is unable to sustain it..." (pg 30) This is a confession to her feelings, however vague it may be, using context clues one can deduce that there is no other explanation.

Later in the book, Artemisia talks about the significance of hands and a lover, "No other beings existed apart from the two of them, and just as Antonio had looked at Artemisia's hand, so did Artemisia feel she was examining the slim, strong hand... so that anything that still remained of the blind, stubborn heart of Artemisia the child, of the mature adult, melted away with an arcane sense of bewilderment, almost of love..." (pg 155) Even though this statement is directed towards Pietra Spinola, we can apply her meaning of hands to her father, and since she compared it to the attention that Antonio would give to her hands, we can apply the romantic love her felt for her to Artemisia and her father. Since she pays so much attention to her father's hands, Artemisia is showing that she has feelings for him that go deeper than a mundane father-daughter relationship.

On the contrary to Artemisia's unrequited love for her father, it seems at times that she shares her brother Francesco's feelings for her. The family decided to leave their home, and the brothers all left before Artemisia and her father. It is stated in the narration that he told them that he wanted to set up a studio, but it pained him to say so because he wished that Artemisia would come with. (pg 34) Before leaving, he shows his sadness about leaving her soon, "...if she had things to do he would remain there sitting with staring eyes." (pg 33)He had no desire to leave her and was very distraught about it. We see evidence of Artemisia's feelings for him later, after her father leaves her for Pisa, "far away is the brother who is also a friend to her... the pure language of mutual comprehension would be turned into a flirtatious, pandering servant. Only with herself, on the canvas, is she able to speak it." (pg 46) It seems she did not wish to stay away from him, since even when she goes to live with her husband, she frequently visits her brother and feels much joy from their time together. Another bit of evidence for their mutual feelings, and the last one that I will address, takes place when they are much older than before. "He...[has] restored her faith in the future, her confidence in her abilities which Francesco has never doubted. She is able to love herself once more, a strong woman who succeeds where she tries, who is exceptional in every way." (pg 124) While prior to her brother's arrival she was feeling extremely distraught, his appearance and faith in her immediately alternates her mood, making her feel a sense of elation. It is very doubtful that many people could earn this response from her, and is shows that she has heightened feelings for Francesco.