Fioretta – Sophia – Angela

Use this forum to discuss the June 2018 Book of the Month"The Girl Who Knew da Vinci" by Belle Ami
pixiequeer
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Re: Fioretta – Sophia – Angela

Post by pixiequeer »

I would say they were all strong in their own way for reasons completely unrelated to anything in the original post.

They all went through very traumatic things during their lifetime and still lived.

That is strong in itself. Honestly, if I went through the same things they did, I would have lost my sanity, and I don't know that I would have made it out alive. Clearly since Fioretta and Sophia lived most of their lives without a partner, considering Giuliano and Gerhard were assassinated, I think it's safe to say men didn't really have as much of a role in their lives as we may think.

Angela, however, has quite the independent streak that she can tune into whenever she wants, but she does end up relying on Alex a lot. He makes it hard to turn him away.
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Post by Dusamae »

I thought Angela standing up to her boss was the act of a strong woman but her visions made her seem weak and needy. I don't know if I would consider the other two women strong, but independent.

I loved Fioretta Gorini relationship with Leonardo and of course with her husband. Sophia, I liked but not as much as Fioretta. Angela's relationship wasn't one I think would last because of the way it started.
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Post by booklysis »

I think Fioretta and Sophie are strong characters. Angela was a damsel in distress. But Fioretta and Sophie's fight was really strong.
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Post by David Horta Alonso »

Angela is a strong woman. Few persons would stand up against their bosses in cases of sexual abuse especially when one's job and career is on the line. I think her actions made her to win big.
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Post by RT_offscript »

Kendra M Parker wrote: 07 Jun 2018, 07:38
cristinaro wrote: 03 Jun 2018, 04:10 Fioretta Gorini works as a model for Leonardo at a time when girls posing for artists were considered either fools or wanton women.

Sophia Caro plans to elope with a German officer precisely during the Nazi occupation of Florence.

Angela Renatus stands up to her sexually harassing boss while risking her one-life career opportunity at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

Would you call them strong women? What is their relationship with the men in their lives?
I might not go with “strong” but I would certainly say that these women were all counter-cultural. None of them were driven by social conventions. That doesn’t necessarily make them strong, simply unconcerned with social convention. I think what would make a woman stronger in literature would be to see her defy authorities in some way to make a significant change. None of these women really made a change to society or a significant difference in the lives they led.

That said, I would not call any of these women weak, either. I’d just like to see them make a bigger impact on those around them.

Fioretta was unconcerned enough that she went to Mass on Easter, but she did not fight to hang onto her life when her delivery went wrong.

Sophia went along with the plan to steal the painting even though she felt it was wrong.

Angela defied her boss, but only privately. She quit and refused to press charges for harassment or when her home was broken into. She didn’t want to make waves.

I’ve enjoyed reading about these women, but I willl say that I don’t feel they are great representations of strong women in literature. Someone more like Mina from Dracula, who defied social conventions by being a secretary, nearly becoming a vampire, and going on an extreme adventure to save herself would be a different matter. Or Jane Eyre who refused marriage when offered to her (twice!) before she went back and rescued her love. Or Hester Prynn (The Scarlet Letter) who refused to divulge the name of her daughter's father and chose to live with the condemnation and suffer the consequences to protect her lover. These are strong women in literature.
Hi Kendra! Your analysis of Fioretta, Sophia, and Angela is amazing; and I completely I agree with you!

To add to your observations, I was also bothered by the people that Fioretta and Sophia became after losing their significant others. Although these ladies were not weak due to their willingness to defy certain accepted social norms, they were no longer willing to overcome obstacles after the death of their lovers; and as a result, their children suffered from the lack of both parents' love.

In summary, these women might have been independent; but after the lost of their lovers, one realizes their severe and unhealthy co-dependence on their partners. The reader probably also noticed Angela's same co-dependence on Alex. Although the story of Angela and Alex is currently not as heart-breaking as their past lives', one could reasonably assume that Angela might lose her will to overcome any complication - if Alex had a tragic demise.
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Post by David Horta Alonso »

Sophia is not a strong woman. She plans on eloping with her love Fiorreta. She should be brave enough and fight for their love.
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Post by KCWolf »

bookowlie wrote: 05 Jun 2018, 19:41 I'm not sure I would call Angela strong or a non-conformist. She seemed more like a damsel in distress due to Scordato's sexual harassment at work. Alex happened to come along at the right time to offer her a job and protect her at the same time.
I did see Angela as a damsel in distress too. Alex was her knight in shining armor. But, I see Sophia and Fioretta as stronger women than Angela was. And, in the end, they gave her their strength.
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Post by TheTrueNyree »

They were all strong women, who loved their men with everything. All three women had men who loved them and adored them. Wanting nothing but to make them happy. They were supportive in their ideas and personality. Both the men and women in these three relationships would do anything to keep each other safe, if they could.
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Post by Yerenzhu »

I wouldn't use the word strong per say, but I think their natural physique, their sexiness is one of the major themes among the three and they were strong women. Mind and body. I feel as if each one had some sort of attractiveness that brought upon men in their lives.
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Post by Power Onyango »

Yeah, they are strong women. They don't allow themselves to be collared around like small kids. Their firm stance on issues they believe in is encouraging.
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Post by gfowle »

I think that a large part of the strength of each of these women is their willingness to go against the social norms of their own time. Each of them is faced with unimaginable hardship, particularly when it comes to the men that they love, however, we can see the progression in dealing with these trials from Fioretta to Sophia to Angela.
Ultimately, it seemed to be that Angela was the one who learned from her past lives in order to successful combat her present struggles.
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Post by Prisallen »

I felt like all of the women were strong - Fioretta and Sophia in deciding to love men that they knew they shouldn't and Angela for not going along with Scordato's sexual advances, even though she knew it could end her career.
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Post by Julie Petitbon »

I think they were strong in the sense that they were willing to do anything for love. They had strong, passionate spirits - Fioretta and Sophia risked their reputations and their lives for what they believed in. Angela is strong too. She refuses to give in to Sorento throughout the book. That being said, they all seem to take a more submissive role with their partners, which could be construed as weak. I think all three women had strength of character and just weren't aware of how much.
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Post by Simmons32 »

I would call them strong in the sense that they stood up for themselves and fought for what they wanted. However, their lives were mainly focused on the men in their lives. I am not saying that a person shouldn’t focus on their relationship, but there should be some balance too.
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Post by Ashna_Tibrewal_7 »

They are strong women who stood up to injustice, took opportunity and made the world there. I love Angela the most because she was relatable with common present time.
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