Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Leopard, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Cultural Survival and Decline
The Inevitability of Change
Class Conflict and Revolution
Love vs. Sensuality
Summary
Analysis
If someone visited the Salina sisters in 1910, they would probably find a priest’s hat sitting on one of the hall chairs. They are all strong-willed spinsters struggling for household dominance, and each insists on having her own confessor. They also have a private chaplain who celebrates daily mass in their home chapel, a Jesuit who oversees the ladies’ spiritual direction, and regular visits from other alms-seeking priests and monks.
The story jumps ahead more than 20 years, to the fading years of the Prince’s offspring. His daughters have not married, symbolizing the death of the family legacy. Just as the novel began with religious observance (the family Rosary), it concludes with a much expanded expression of Catholic devotion—an almost comically excessive one, in fact.
Themes
One afternoon in May, there are more hats than usual. An official from the Archdiocese of Palermo is there, along with his secretary, two Jesuits, and the chaplain. The Pope has recently ordered that the archdiocese’s chapels be inspected. This is to ensure that the priests are up to par, that the liturgy is being celebrated properly, and that the relics venerated are actually authentic. The Salina sisters’ chapel is renowned in Palermo, and it’s the first in the Archdiocese to be visited. Rumors have circulated concerning a particular image and dozens of relics, and the chaplain has been reprimanded for not alerting the sisters to possible problems.
Though famously impressive, the Salina sisters’ chapel has also sparked controversy, suggesting that everything isn’t as it seems. Catholic relics typically include such things as portions of a saint’s bone or clothing, which are believed to retain a portion of that person’s holiness and are therefore worthy of veneration. Because these objects play such an important role in devotion, their historic authenticity is considered to be very important. These items are believed to stay the same, in other words, even after their original possessors are long dead.
Themes
The meeting is taking place in the villa’s drawing room, the one with the ornate decorations. Concetta sits on a couch with the Monsignor, while Carolina and Caterina (the latter in a wheelchair) and assorted priests sit nearby. The sisters are all over 70. Though not the eldest, Concetta is the most formidable and still has traces of youthful beauty, as well as an authoritarian demeanor. The conversation takes an hour. Carolina is offended that the Salina chapel will be examined first, and a reference to the Pope doesn’t placate her; she quietly suspects that she is more pious than him. The Monsignor and the priests, smiling, praise the sisters’ childlike faith and the holy atmosphere in which they were raised, thanks to the saintly Father Pirrone.
The meeting takes place in the same room in which the Salina family once prayed the Rosary together, bringing the novel full circle. These days, the sisters’ lives revolve around their devotion. Little else of their noble upbringing seems to have survived, and the world around them has changed. Catholicism, in addition to being a matter of sincere personal belief (especially for Carolina), is the one enduring connection to their culture and class—which perhaps explains why they express it in such an over-the-top fashion.
Themes
After the Prince’s death, the villa had become the property of the three sisters. They decided to establish an oratory in the drawing room, because its columns made it look a bit like a basilica. (They got rid of the pagan fresco on the ceiling.) When the Monsignor goes inside, in order to preview the chapel’s contents for the Archbishop, he immediately sees the subject of some of the rumors: a painting above the altar. It features an attractive brunette woman with bare shoulders gazing heavenward, holding a crumpled letter in her hand, in front of an Italian landscape. There’s no infant Jesus, or any other symbols normally associated with the Virgin Mary. The Monsignor praises the painting’s beauty but refrains from crossing himself. Carolina claims that the painting is miraculous: it shows Mary holding a holy letter invoking Christ’s protection over the people of Messina. She says that miracles during a recent earthquake prove the existence of this protection.
In the Prince’s day, the painting of the gods on the ceiling had been a symbol of the Salina pride and dominance. Now, the “pagan” images have been unceremoniously painted over, showing both the inevitability of change and the fact that the Salina family no longer exists in its earlier dominant form. But, rather like the Prince’s association of the paintings with his own prowess, the sisters now attribute special power to their religious art—though, from the Monsignor’s reaction, it appears that even this significance is questionable.
Themes
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The Monsignor then turns to the 74 relics covering the walls beside the altar. Each is framed along with documentation of its authenticity. The sisters, especially Carolina, have spent years collecting them, dealing with a woman named Donna Rosa who collects the relics from old churches and families and then re-sells them; she always provides meticulous proof of authenticity written in Latin or (she claims) Greek or Syriac. The Monsignor hurriedly praises the collection and leaves with the other priests. The Monsignor rides in a carriage with Father Titta, the chaplain. After a while, the Monsignor asks the chaplain if he has truly been saying Mass in front of that painting, which he must know is not a holy image. The chaplain defends himself that it isn’t easy to go against Carolina.
The Monsignor’s hurried appraisal suggests that, to a knowledgeable eye, the relics are evidently fake—suggesting that the one remaining source of Salina pride is also empty. What’s more, in their desire to cling to some aspect of their upbringing and culture, the sisters have apparently been duped. This is similar to the way the Prince deluded himself that his way of life would never change. When threatened with the loss of what feels most meaningful to them, people are especially vulnerable to such self-deception.
Themes
Concetta retreats to her neat, orderly bedroom. Though a visitor wouldn’t notice, Concetta feels that the room is stuffed with “mummified memories.” Four big cases contain Concetta’s unused wedding trousseau, now grown yellowed and damp. The paintings and photographs show people and places no longer known or loved, including properties sold off. And the ragged rug on the floor, if one looks closely, is actually the stuffed remains of Bendicò, who died 45 years ago. The servants have been begging her to throw it out, but she won’t—it’s the only family artifact with no upsetting associations.
Concetta’s life appears to be stuck in the past. Some of her dreams were never realized, and some of her memories cannot be erased even if she wants them to be. Most of her family associations bring her no happiness; like her father, she finds innocent animals easiest to relate to. In short, Concetta lives among the remains of the past, unable to move on.
Themes
Concetta understands the Monsignor’s implications. It doesn’t really bother her if the relics are removed; she’d always bought them to appease her more devout sisters. But she knows that this will mean a decline in the Salina family’s reputation in the eyes of the Church and the whole city. Her name no longer has prestige, and the family no longer has much money, but the Salinas had held onto their reputation for piety.
Because religion is the only thing left to the Salina name, the examination of the relics is personally threatening to Concetta. If the relics are proven to be inauthentic, the Salinas will face a final, permanent decline. The inauthenticity would also suggest that the sisters’ attempts to squeeze meaning out of the remaining family legacy has also been inauthentic.
Themes
A maid informs Concetta that the Princess Angelica has arrived for a visit, so Concetta gathers herself and greets her friend and cousin warmly. Angelica, almost 70, is still beautiful and vibrant. She tells Concetta about her service on the committee to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the March of the Thousand, in Tancredi’s memory. She has gotten Fabrizietto to agree to march in the parade, representing the Salinas. Angelica also has an invitation for a grandstand seat, which she gives to Concetta, since she was Tancredi’s favorite cousin.
Half a century has passed since Garibaldi’s volunteer army, including Tancredi, invaded Palermo, helping bring about modern Italy. Even though their marriage has been described as a failure romantically, Angelica has found meaning in preserving Tancredi’s memory. Rather like the religious relics, the parade and celebration are a way of hanging onto some semblance of the past.
Themes
Angelica says that Senator Tassoni, Tancredi’s old friend and fellow soldier, is visiting for the festivities; he wants to stop by to meet Concetta, since Tancredi spoke of her so often. Concetta falls silent, remembering Tassoni’s presence at the dinner table in Donnafugata. He’d been mentioned in Tancredi’s crude joke about breaking into the convent—what she considers to have been the turning point in her life.
Tassoni was the friend of Tancredi’s who joined him in the alleged convent break-in during the battle of Palermo. Concetta has hung onto that story for all these years— in her mind, it represents her break with Tancredi and the start of his relationship with Angelica instead.
Themes
Soon after, Senator Tassoni arrives, a handsome, energetic, wealthy old man who’s never lost his soldier’s bearing. He greets Concetta warmly, saying that meeting her is a dream come true; he feels he already knows her, since Tancredi spoke of her so often. Shyly, Concetta asks what sorts of things Tancredi used to say. Tassoni says that, to Tancredi, Concetta was the very image of love. In fact, 10 years ago, Tancredi had confided in him an “unpardonable sin” he’d once committed against her—telling her a made-up war story. Concetta’s indignation, Tancredi had said, made him want to kiss her.
Tassoni and his story are relics from the past too—and the story Tassoni tells reveals that the resentment Concetta has been clinging to is an inauthentic “relic” in its own way. It turns out that Tancredi’s provocative story wasn’t true—it was simply a foolish attempt to get a reaction from her. In other words, Concetta’s perception of her past has been based on a lie.
Themes
The conversation goes on, but Concetta remembers little of it. Slowly, the story begins to sink in, and her heart suffers as a 50-year-old wound reopens. Since that summer at Donnafugata, she had always felt wronged and resentful. Now those feelings collapse; it was she who had been wrong because of her Salina pride. If this is true, she’s spent her life resenting the Prince and hiding pictures of Tancredi for no reason. Concetta had misunderstood Tancredi’s desire to enter the convent—he’d been making a loving overture to her, but she’d been blind to it.
Concetta realizes that she’s been living her life based on a willful misunderstanding of what happened at Donnafugata, resulting in decades of unnecessary suffering. In the past, the Prince lamented that pride was Sicilians’ downfall, and he himself suffered for his inability to accept social change. On a more intimate level, Concetta’s undoing is pride too.
Themes
The Cardinal of Palermo, a holy man, is not a Sicilian. He has struggled for years against the abuses he finds in Palermo. Eventually, he realizes that his efforts are for nothing; it’s foolish to try to change the stubborn, sluggish Sicilian character, which he finds constantly resistant to change or effort. He has become disillusioned. When the Cardinal visits the Salina villa, the sisters are disappointed by his cold politeness; they can tell that he doesn’t respect their devotions. After a quick examination of the chapel, the Cardinal informs Concetta that it must be reconsecrated, and the painting removed. He leaves behind his secretary to study the rest of the relics collection. Concetta takes the news calmly, while Carolina is enraged and Caterina grows faint.
Rather like the naïve government official Chevalley, the Cardinal has tried to transform conditions in Sicily. But he has given up, confirming the Prince’s argument that Sicilians are too self-satisfied to accept change. The Cardinal sees the Salina sisters as another manifestation of this stubborn pride. Their chapel has centered around a pseudo-religious painting, suggesting a hollowness at the core of their lives too. While the other sisters react with anger and shock, Concetta, after her conversation with Tassoni, is just confirmed in what she already knows.
Themes
The cardinal’s secretary, Don Pacchiotti, is a scholar of paleography. He takes his time examining the relics and their documentation, emerging hours later covered with dust and looking satisfied. He carries a basket filled with the inauthentic relics, which have no value; five of these, he says, are legitimate.
When studied by an impartial outsider, the sisters’ acclaimed collection is quickly shown to be mostly fake. Their reputation for piety has been based on lies. This is another example of the hollowness of prideful attempts to hold onto the past.
Themes
After the priest leaves, Concetta retires to her room, feeling numb. A little later, she receives a warm letter from Angelica, conveying Tassoni’s greetings. Still feeling blank, Concetta summons her maid. The smelly, moth-eaten remains of Bendicò are bothering her as never before; she tells the maid to get rid of the thing at last. Soon, the rug is flung into a corner of the courtyard. Mid-air, it briefly looks like a whiskered leopard with one foreleg raised, as if cursing someone. Then it falls at last into a heap of dust.
Now that her own perception of the past has been proven false, and the last remaining vestige of the Salina legacy has been demonstrated to be fake, Concetta no longer clings to the past. The discarded “leopard” symbolizes the final collapse of a family legacy that once appeared formidable and unchanging. This rather undignified conclusion suggests that efforts to resist change by upholding an idealized past will ultimately fail. Change is inevitable, and even the proudest legacies decline and die.
Themes
