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The Search for Love in Travelers and Natives

Submitted by Mathias Gabriel on Mon, 09/28/2009 - 21:02

Foreign RomanceForeign Romance

Shirley Hazzard’s The Evening of the Holiday serves as a beneficial read to those who think of themselves as “travelers” or “tourists,” for it allows insight into the minds of the natives, such as Tancredi, whilst in the company of foreigners. While said travelers often dream of going to far-off countries and finding Hollywood-like romances, this book shows that the natives often feel the same way about tourists—they often romanticize the coming of foreigners, with their charming accents, differences in appearance (such as the Englishwoman Sophie’s “startling green eyes that were rare in [Italy],” [10] as described by Tancredi), and overall sense of exciting unfamiliarity.

In the novella, there are basically two different views of the natives’ intentions with foreigners. The first of these intentions is an immoral one—the natives seem to often use foreigners for simply “a good time” as opposed to trying to create an actual relationship. Tordini, in telling a joke, asks “‘What is it they do that’s so special, these foreign girls?’ The waiter took away his plate and put down the dish of pasta. ‘Thank you. And the friend replies: ‘They leave.’ “ This is said in front of Sophie, who of course is bordering on starting a relationship with Tancredi, with whom she has been spending a lot of time, and just received what she believes to be a love letter.

On the other hand, although Tancredi’s relationship with Sophie eventually falls through, his intentions with her seemed to be purely out of love. When Sophie tells Tancredi that she has “a thing about waiting,” for she feels that it’s “a state of emergency—everything becomes so concentrated,” Tancredi sincerely promises her that she mustn’t fear waiting, for he will always come, eventually. This seems to be an acknowledgement of Sophie’s questioning of Tancredi’s intentions—she does not yet know if she can trust him.

Overall, the story does not seem to judge the native and the traveler’s search for love; Hazzard does not seem to ever say whether this is “right” or “wrong.” She simply seems to be telling the reader that our search for love in the unfamiliar is inevitable, whether it is successful or not.

 

I like how you touched upon

Submitted by Weslamar on Tue, 09/29/2009 - 12:12.

I like how you touched upon that you linger on the natives attraction to the foreign traveller how she tries resist falling in love.  It seems this is the first novel we have read that deals with the more explict pain of encountering an authentic experience.  There is a passage that i use in my blog that talks about how Sophie wishes she was an ordinary tourist so she wouldn't have to deal with loving and lossing. 

I like your interpretation of

Submitted by hillary on Mon, 09/28/2009 - 21:42.

I like your interpretation of their affair.  It seems that in the book, the story just sort of unfolds without a moral--the plot almost doesn't seem planned out.  In this way, the novel is a bit like a vacation, with things just happening spontaneously, much the way the romance happens.  As you wrote, "our search for love in the unfamiliar is inevitable" much the way a vacation straying from a set itinerary is almost inevitable.  This idea of things taking their own course seems to be part of the nature of travel.