Roles of Travel

For Sophie travel is both a looming threat and her greatest happiness. She is constantly worried by the feeling that she must eventually return home. Her ultimate departure from Italy would end the happiness she has found with Tancredi. However, she also cannot settle down in Italy because she always feels like a foreigner. At the same time when she is physically moving she seems to be happiest. Sophie is extremely happy when she is going through the town to meet Tancredi at the train station for their trip to Florence. While driving back from Florence she is also very happy and she does not want the trip to end. She is able to escape the worries of life while traveling. She does not know if she and Tancredi will be as in love the next day, but at that point it does not matter because they are happy in that moment. While the moment continues nothing will change, but when they arrive the moment will be over.