O sorte dura, che mi fa esser quale
Punta d’un Scorpio, et domandar riparo
Contr’el velen’ d’all ’istesso animale.
(Louïze Labé.)
About This Book
A young woman arrives at unfamiliar lodgings after a painful separation and the death of a close companion, confronting solitude and the anxieties of anonymity while keeping a revolver and personal tokens close. She swings between suicidal impulses and a strong desire to live, feeling both wounded and hardened by grief. The narrative follows her intimate reflections as she makes herself at home in strange rooms, monitors neighbors, and tests her emotional defenses. Quiet scenes of nighttime observation and interior monologue trace a tentative return to engagement with life, complicated by secrecy, longing, and the need for self-protection.