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Il Bastianino
Elisabetta is the daughter of the late Duke of Ferrara and Alfonso’s mother. She is Alfonso and Nunciata’s sister, and Ercole Contrari’s lover. Elisabetta welcomes Lucrezia to Ferrara with warmth and kindness, inviting her to attend salons and take walks with her. Forced to watch as Baldassare murders Contrari, Elisabetta is devastated by grief and leaves Ferrara. She warns Lucrezia that Alfonso is heartless and that he’ll blame Lucrezia for his inability to conceive a child.
Elisabetta Quotes in The Marriage Portrait
The The Marriage Portrait quotes below are all either spoken by Elisabetta or refer to Elisabetta. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 4: Venison Baked in Wine Quotes
Her husband’s face comes in and out of visibility. She watches, with fixed fascination, as his expression changes with every flicker of the candle: first thoughtful, then kind, now stern, now animated, now forbidding, now handsome, then amorous and then detached. It is true: she has no idea what he is capable of, and she does not want to find out.
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Chapter 17: Sisters of Alfonso II, Seen from a Distance Quotes
They see her as the portal, the means to their family’s survival. Lucrezia wants to fasten her cloak about herself, to hide her hands up her sleeves, to tie her cap to her head, to pull a veil over her face. You shall not look at me, she wants to say, you shall not see into me. I will not be yours. How dare you assess me and find me lacking? I am not La Fecundissima and never will be.
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“Poor Lucrezia,” she murmurs, still looking away from her.
“Me?” Lucrezia replies. It’s you who—”
“No, no.” Elisabetta sighs, straightening a fold in her shift. “I am leaving. As soon as day breaks. I will go to Rome, to Luigi, my other brother. I may never come back here. Alfonso is not my husband. I can leave. You cannot.”
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Elisabetta Character Timeline in The Marriage Portrait
The timeline below shows where the character Elisabetta appears in The Marriage Portrait. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4: Venison Baked in Wine
...him talk as if nothing is wrong, all the while thinking of how his sister, Elisabetta, told her she has no idea what Alfonso is capable of. In the present, his...
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Chapter 17: Sisters of Alfonso II, Seen from a Distance
Alfonso’s sister Elisabetta greets Lucrezia warmly; she is tall and fashionable. The second sister, Nunciata, is stout and...
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...of the eldest sister producing an heir to rival Alfonso, but instead asks if either Elisabetta or Nunciata is married. Elisabetta says she has not yet been tempted. Nunciata quips that...
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Shaken by Nunciata’s comment about temptation, Elisabetta implores Lucrezia not to mention it to Alfonso, insisting her sister was joking. Though Elisabetta...
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...the dinner watching the other guests, noting how their styles differ from those of Florence. Elisabetta and Nunciata are both distracted from the singers, but Alfonso is fixated on the music....
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...of the whole court, filling Lucrezia with hope that he truly loves her. She notices Elisabetta receiving a secret note from Ercole Contrari, the handsome head of the guardsmen. The act...
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...paints two figures leaning towards one another near a pillar. It is the image of Elisabetta and Ercole Contrari, two secret lovers. She waits for the paint to dry before obliterating...
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...she spends the first few days shut in her rooms, painting to her heart’s content, Elisabetta soon pulls her into daily court life. Lucrezia enjoys Elisabetta’s light-hearted nature, though she dislikes...
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...judgmental of Lucrezia’s collected feathers and skulls, and Emilia is clearly irritated by her presence. Elisabetta tells Lucrezia to give the overbearing Clelia a chance. She seems to know that Lucrezia...
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...Lucrezia lets her mind wander, leaving her body behind. Gazing out the window, she sees Elisabetta and Ercole Contrari embracing on a battlement. Alfonso notices her looking, but Elisabetta is alone...
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At the first frost of the year, Lucrezia rides out with Elisabetta and some guardsmen. Her sister-in-law falls behind to ride beside Contrari, and their love reminds...
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...Lucrezia presses Emilia to tell her what has happened, and the maid relents. Alfonso discovered Elisabetta’s affair with Ercole Contrari and sentenced him to death. Because Elisabetta showed no remorse, Alfonso...
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Lucrezia sneaks to Elisabetta’s room. Elisabetta looks terrible, clearly overcome by grief. She is angry at Lucrezia, believing she...
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...of Ferrara. She paces the terraces and battlements, trying not to think of Contrari and Elisabetta. Lucrezia writes a letter to her parents, asking them to send for her. She tells...
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