“Perfect Summer” by Pawese in brief summary
Italy of the thirties of this century, the working margin of Turin. In these dim scenery unfolds a sad story of the first love of the young girl Ginia to the artist Guido.
Ginia works in the studio and leads the company with the factory workers and the neighborhood guys. Once she meets Amelia. About Amelia knows that “she leads a different life.” Amelia – a model, it draws artists – “full face, profile, dressed, undressed.” She likes this work, artists often have a lot of people going to the workshops, you can sit and listen to clever conversations – “cleaner than the movies.” Only in the winter to stand naked is cold.
Once Amelia invites to pose a fat artist with a gray beard, and Jinia begs to go to him with her friend. The bearded man finds that Ginia has an interesting face, and makes several sketches from her. But the girl does not like her image – she turned out to be somnolent. In the evening, remembering
Work at the Borodacha ended, and Amelia sits all day in a cafe. There she begins a close acquaintance with Rodriguez – a hairy young man in a white tie, with black eyes like a coal, who constantly draws something in his notebook. One evening she invites Jinia to go to him, or rather, to the artist Guido, who rented an apartment on a share with Rodriguez. With Guido, she has known for a long time, and when Jinia asks what they were doing with him, the girlfriend laughingly replies that they “beat the glasses.”
Laughing blonde Guido, lit by a blinding light without a lampshade, is not at all like an artist, although he has already painted many pictures, all the walls in the studio are covered with his works. Young people treat the girls with wine, then Amelia asks for the light to be turned off, and the surprised
Jinia liked Guido and his paintings, she wants to take another look at them. “If she was sure she would not find Rodriguez at the studio, she would probably have had the courage to go there alone.” Finally, she agrees to go to the studio with Amelia. But Ginia is disappointed – at home is one Rodriguez. Then Ginia chooses the day when Rodriguez sits in a cafe, and one goes to Guido. The artist invites her to sit down, but he continues to work. Jinia looks at the still life with “transparent and watery” slices of melon, on which a ray of light falls. She feels that this can only be drawn by a real artist; “I like you, Jinia,” she suddenly hears. Guido tries to hug her, but she, red as a cancer, breaks free and runs away.
The more Jiniya thinks of Guido, the less she understands “why Amelia got confused with Rodriguez, and not with him.” Meanwhile, Amelia offers Ginia to pose together with her one artist who wants to portray the struggle of two naked women. Ginia flatly refuses, and the girlfriend, angry, coldly bids her farewell. Struggling alone in the streets, Jinia dreams of meeting Guido. She’s just sick with this blonde artist and studio. Suddenly, a phone call rings: Amelia invites her to a party. Coming into the studio, Jinia listens enviously to Guido and Amelia. She understands that artists do not lead such a life as others, they do not need to “be serious”. Rodriguez – he does not paint pictures, so he does not say anything, and if he does, he basically mockers. But most importantly, she feels an irresistible desire to be alone with Guido. And now, when Amelia and Rodriguez are arranged on the ottoman, she throws back the curtain, hiding the entrance to another room, and, plunged into darkness, rushes to the bed.
The next day she thinks of only one thing: “From now on she must see Guido without these two.” And she wants to joke, laugh, go where the eyes look – she is happy. “I must really love him,” she thinks. “It would not be good if I were.” The work becomes her joy: in the evening she will go to the studio. She even feels sorry for Amelia, who does not understand the good pictures of Guido.
Entering the studio, Jinia hides her face on Guido’s chest and cries for joy, and then asks them to leave for the curtain, “because by the light it seemed to them that everyone was looking at them.” Guido kisses her, and she whispers to him embarrassingly that yesterday he hurt her very much. In response, Guido calms her down, says that it will all pass. Seeing how good he is, Jinia ventures to tell him that she wants to always see him alone, even for a few minutes. And she adds that she would even agree to pose for him. She leaves the studio only when Rodriguez returns.
Every day, Ginia resorts to Guido, but they never have time to talk in detail, because at any moment Rodriguez can come. “I would like to fall in love with you to grow wiser, but then I would lose time,” Guido once remarked. But Ginia already knows that he will never marry her, however much she loves him. “She knew that from the very night she gave herself to him, and thank you for the fact that while she was coming, Guido stopped working and went with her for a curtain.” She knew that she could only meet with him if she became his model Otherwise, one day he will take another. “
Guido leaves for his parents. Amelia gets syphilis, and Jinia warns Rodriguez about it. Soon Guido returns, and their meetings resume. Several times the girls slip out of the studio to meet Jinia, but Guido says that these are models. And then Jinia learns that, despite her illness, Guido takes Amelia to the models. Ginia in confusion: but what about Rodriguez? To which Guido angrily responds that she herself can pose for Rodriguez.
The next day, Ginia comes to the studio in the morning. Guido stands behind the easel and paints the naked Amelia. “Which of us are you jealous of?” – Sickly asks Jinia artist.
The session is over, Amelia is getting dressed. “Draw me, too,” Jinia suddenly asks, and begins to undress with a heart-pounding heart. When she is completely naked, Rodriguez comes out from behind the curtain. Somehow pulling on her clothes, Jinia runs out into the street: she seems to be still naked.
Now Jinya has a lot of time, and since she has already learned to cope with domestic work in a hurry, it makes her “only worse”, because there is a lot of time left to think about. She starts to smoke. Often, she bitterly recalls that she and Guido “did not even say goodbye.”
In the street – slushy winter, and Ginia with longing dreams of summer. Although in her heart she does not believe that it will ever come. “I’m an old woman, that’s it.” All is well for me, “she thinks.
But one evening Amelia comes to her, the same one that has not changed at all. She is being treated and will soon be completely healthy, says Amelia, lighting a cigarette. Ginia also takes a cigarette. Amelia laughs and says that Jinia made an impression on Rodriguez. Now Guido is jealous of him. Then she invites Ginia to walk. “Let’s go wherever you want,” Jinia says, “lead me.”
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