The Sins of the Mother: Is only Laurina to Blame?

Zofloya is another example of a heavily Gothic-influenced novel. Charlotte Dacre wrote this novel at the beginning of the 19th Century. Similar to Radcliffe, Dacre explores the minds of her female characters, showing varying personalities and motivations quite unlike those written by men of the time. At the beginning, we are introduced to two female main characters, a mother and daughter duo named Laurina and Victoria. These women are nobles in Venice, a place where nobility is revered. But these women are not the most savory of characters.

Laurina and Victoria owe their nobility to the Marchese di Loredani, the husband of Laurina and father of Victoria. He was widely loved by the people of Venice as being "the most beneficent, the noblest, and the best of human beings" (Dacre 5). But, to borrow a phrase from popular culture, "With great power, comes great responsibility". Being the wife of a Marchese causes one to be constantly in the public's eye. Laurina, at the opening, had been married to the Marchese for seventeen years and been blessed with two children. When she married the Marchese, she was about fifteen years old and he was only twenty himself. A young wife, she soon became a young mother, having had two children within the span of two years. 

Laurina and the Marchese were young and inexperienced in parenting and did what many parents, especially well-to-do ones, do: spoil their children rotten. Dacre sums this practice up quite well, saying, "lavish and imprudent was the fondness bestowed by the parents upon their idolized offspring -- boundless and weak was the indulgence for ever shewn to them" (4). Eager to appease their children and to keep tears from being shed on their angelic faces, the Marchese and Laurina spoiled them. They did not think this would cause their children to turn out the way they did, and oh did it affect them.

Palace Cavalli in Venice

Such up bringing caused Victoria and her older brother Leonardo to grow up with unpleasant characteristics that the parents did not necessarily show. Victoria is describe as "beautiful and accomplished as an angel, was proud, haughty, and self-sufficient, -- of a wild, ardent, irresponsible spirit, indifferent to reproof, careless of censure -- of implacable, revengeful, and cruel nature, and bent upon gaining the ascendancy in whatever she engaged" (4). Laurina and her husband, by giving Victoria whatever she desired, inadvertently caused Victoria to be unable to be placated and unaffected by simple reproach. Victoria is only swayed temporarily by the death of her father. The events leading up to this are mainly of her mother's doing. 

Laurina is noted in the text as being very devoted to her husband, just as he adored Laurina. But even someone as madly in love as Laurina can stray. Laurina's initial downfall is caused by Count Ardolph, a man who stays with the di Loredani family. He is a person of despicable character, a serial seducer of married women. At first, his advances on Laurina go unnoticed as Laurina is utterly dedicated to her husband. It took Ardolph begging on his knees for Laurina to see his interest in her. Once Laurina saw how he felt, things went downhill quickly. Soon all that Laurina could think about was Ardolph, whether he was with her or not. After some time, Laurina decided to run away with Ardolph.

This event caused the di Loredani family to fall apart. Leonardo felt so disgraced by his mother's actions that he ran off on his own. Victoria was thrust into the role of mistress of the house. Her implacable nature was only made worse as now the servants too had to follow her every whim. The Marchese was profoundly affected by his wife's affair and he became melancholic. But Laurina's doings also affected the family in other ways too, namely in the social sphere. Other nobility of Venice stopped socializing with the di Loredanis. At one point the Marchese asks why Victoria is not socializing with people her age to which she responds "because my mother has disgraced us" (15).

The Marchese soon dies after spotting Ardolph on the streets of Venice and attacking him. On his deathbed, the Marchese begs Victoria to change her ways and not act like her mother. Laurina bursts in, finding out the events after Ardolph returned to the house they were renting. She begs the Marchese to forgive her. He says that she must change her ways and that she must make sure Victoria does not follow in her mother's footsteps. Shaken by the desperate tone of the Marchese, they both agree, and then the Marchese dies.

But this promise does not last. Not long after she moves with her mother and Ardolph, Victoria continues to disobey her mother and Ardolph.

Discussion questions:

Based on what we have read so far, is Laurina the only one to blame? If not, who else is to blame? Why do you think Victoria obeyed her father's wishes for such a short amount of time? Could the Marchese have done more to alter the behavior of his daughter? Was his approach too hands-off? Are there any circumstances that could have changed to alter the situation of Victoria?