Up at the Villa is a 1941 novella by William Somerset Maugham about a young widow caught between three men: her suitor, her one-night stand, and her confidant. The year 1941 in literature involved some significant events and new books A novella is a written, Fictional Prose Narrative longer than a Novelette but shorter than a Novel. William Somerset Maugham, CH ( January 25 1874 &ndash December 16 1965) was an English Playwright, Courtship is the traditional dating period before engagement and marriage A one-night stand is originally a single night theatre performance (usually a guest group on tour and today more commonly also a single sexual encounter between individuals A fast-paced story, Up at the Villa incorporates elements of the crime and suspense novel. Crime fiction is the Genre of Fiction that deals with Crimes their detection criminals and their motives It is usually distinguished from
Plot
The action takes place in the late 1930s. The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression. 30 year-old Mary Panton, whose extraordinary beauty has always been one of her greatest assets, has been a widow for one year. Her late husband Matthew, whom she married when she was 21 because she was really in love with him, turned out to be an alcoholic, a gambler, a womanizer, and a wife-beater. However, Mary Panton patiently endures all the hardship and pain inflicted on her by her husband (including him having sex with her while drunk). When he drinks and drives he has a car accident and eventually, a few hours later, dies in Mary's arms. This, she concludes, is a blessing for both of them.
The Leonards—a couple who never appear in the novella—offer her their 16th century villa on a hill above Florence, Italy to stay there for some time, and she gladly takes them up on it. Florence ( Italian: Firenze Florentia and Fiorenza) is the Capital City of the Italian region of Tuscany Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The old villa is staffed by two people—Nina, the maid, and Ciro, her husband, a manservant—but otherwise empty. Mary, whose parents are both dead, enjoys the solitary life up at the villa. Occasionally, she joins other highbrow residents of, and visitors to, Florence for a party or luncheon. Also, she likes driving round the countryside in her car. So far it has never occurred to her to take a lover—whether this is because she considers it immoral, because it may cause a scandal or because she does not feel the need remains obscure; what she does say is that it has been easy for her to do without one because she has never been tempted. A temptation is an act that looks appealing to an individual It is usually used to describe acts with negative connotations and as such tends to lead a person to Regret
During dinner at a restaurant together with some of her acquaintances—among them the old Princess San Ferdinando, an American who is said to have been quite a loose woman in her day—they listen to a young man playing the violin. He is ridiculously dressed up in folkloristic clothes and not good at all at playing the instrument. At the end of the evening, the Princess tries to set Mary up with Rowley Flint, a young Englishman of independent means whose reputation is very bad, by asking her to give him a lift back to the hotel where he is staying. A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging usually on a short-term basis Flint actually makes a pass at her, but she rejects him and just laughs at him when he even proposes to her: They both seem to know without speaking that this proposal of marriage could not be meant seriously.
After she has dropped him off at the hotel, she drives back home. On her way up to the villa, although it is late at night and dark, she stops to have a look at the scenery. She senses that there is someone else quite close to her. This other person turns out to be Karl Richter, the fiddler from the restaurant, also admiring the view. They strike up a conversation, and Mary learns that he is a 23 year-old Austrian art student who has recently fled the country because he was being persecuted by the Nazis, and now, without a passport or any other documents, is staying as an illegal immigrant in a shabby rented room at the foot of the hill quite close to the Leonards' villa. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Illegal immigration refers to Immigration across National Borders in a way that violates the Immigration laws of the destination Country
Mary takes pity on the poor boy and, on the spur of the moment, asks him if he wants to come up with her to have a look at the precious paintings in the villa. Once there, it turns out that, due to his having no money, Richter has not had dinner. With the servants long gone to bed, Mary fixes him some bacon and eggs. They have wine with their improvised meal.
One thing leads to another, and they end up in bed. Earlier that same night, when taking leave of Flint, Mary confessed to him that if she ever had sex outside marriage it would have to be with a poor man whom she pitied; and it would only be once. Pity implies tender or sometimes slightly contemptuous sorrow for one in misery or distress This kind of foreboding now becomes reality.
When Mary thinks it is time for Richter to leave and the latter, to her dismay, asks when he will be able to see her again, the idyllic situation quickly deteriorates. Mary remembers the revolver her suitor, 54 year-old Sir Edgar Swift, has forced upon her as a means of protection. rEVOLVEr is the fourth studio album by Swedish metal band The Haunted. When Richter starts insulting and threatening her, she pulls it out of her handbag, aims it at Richter, but then cannot summon up the courage to pull the trigger. She wants to do him good, advising him to try and escape to Switzerland, but to no avail. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Richter feels utterly humiliated when he learns from Mary that she has only slept with him out of pity. Humiliation (also called stultification) is the abasement of pride mortification He says he saw a goddess in her, but now she is just a whore for him. It is then that Mary Panton's nightmare begins: Richter with a swift gesture picks her up and roughly throws her on her bed, before covering her face with kisses. She tries to get away from him but as he is much stronger than her, she is powerless and ceases to resist. A few minutes later in a fit of remorse over what he sees as the impossibility of life since escaping his homeland Richter announces You asked me not to forget you. I shall forget, but you won't, then in the dark he shoots himself through the breast with Swift's gun. There is only little blood due to the internal haemorrhage Richter inflicted on himself. Bleeding, technically known as hemorrhaging / haemorrhaging (see American and British spelling differences) is the loss of Blood from
Nina, her maid, hears the shot and presently knocks at her bedroom door. Mary panics and sends her away without opening. Then she phones Rowley Flint and asks him to help her. As taxis are not available all night, Flint borrows the hotel porter's bicycle and then walks up the hill to the villa. A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of Public transport for a single passenger or small group of passengers typically for a non-shared ride They have to think fast as there are only a few hours left before the break of the new day. Mary Panton is prepared to accept full responsibility for her actions. But then Flint has the idea that the two of them might just as well try to dispose of the body.
Flint and Panton drag the body out of the house and into Mary's car. Then they drive along the highway and finally turn into a country lane. There, in the dark of the night, Flint dumps the body. A dangerous situation arises when a car full of drunk Italians approaches. The driver has difficulty passing Mary's car and has to slow down almost to a halt. When the party see Mary and Flint, who are embracing each other, pretending to be lovers, they start singing "La donna è mobile" and drive on. " La donna è mobile " (" Woman is fickle " is the cynical Duke of Mantua's Canzone from Giuseppe Verdi 's Opera On the following morning, in broad daylight, Flint returns to this spot to throw away the revolver, which they forgot the night before.
On the following morning Mary Panton sleeps almost until noon. She has an invitation for luncheon, and Flint has inculcated upon her not to show any signs of panic or fear or whatever, so she goes there. Her guilty conscience is her constant companion though. Conscience is a hypothesized Ability or faculty that distinguishes whether our actions are right or wrong
The situation becomes even more complicated with the impending arrival of Sir Edgar Swift, who has known her and her parents since she was a little child, and who politely retreated when she got married to Matthew Panton. Now Swift has gathered new hope ever since she has been widowed. Shortly before Richter's suicide he informs her of his impending promotion to a high government post in colonial India. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country As he will have to do a lot of entertaining, he is looking for a suitable wife, and he actually proposes to Mary before he flies off to Cannes on urgent government business. Cannes (kan in Occitan Canas) is a city in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Mary tells him she will give him an answer when he is back in Florence.
When Swift comes up to the villa Mary has already made up her mind to confess everything to him. After listening to her story he says that he forgives her and that he still wants to marry her. Forgiveness doesn't mean that you deny the other person's responsibility for hurting you and it doesn't minimize or justify the wrong At the same time, however, he declares that he will not be in a position to accept the post he has been so eager to get, claiming that if his wife's criminal past caught up with them, the ensuing scandal might even jeopardize the Empire. A scandal is a widely Publicized incident that involves Allegations of wrongdoing, disgrace or moral outrage He suggests the following course of action: He retires, they get married, and then they move to the French Cote d'Azur. The French Riviera (Côte d'Azur Occitan: Còsta Azzura) is one of the most famous resort areas in the world extending along the Mediterranean Sea west Mary, however, objects to that: She tells him bluntly she is not in love with him and that she could not stand his presence 24 hours a day.
After Swift has left, Flint turns up at the villa again, remarking that he does not "keep all [his] goods in the shop window": He owns an estate in Kenya, and has also read Dr Johnson, so all of a sudden he does appear eligible to Mary. For other uses see Estate. An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north Somalia to the northeast Tanzania to the south Samuel Johnson (often referred to as Dr Johnson) (18 September She remembers the previous night, their emergency embrace in the dark country lane, which she found not wholly unpleasant. And, agreeing with him that life is all about taking risks, she decides to accept his proposal this time. Risk is a Concept that denotes the precise probability of specific eventualities
Film version
| Up at the Villa | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Philip Haas |
| Produced by | Geoff Stier |
| Written by | W. Somerset Maugham (book) Belinda Haas (screenplay) |
| Starring | Kristin Scott Thomas Sean Penn |
| Music by | Pino Donaggio |
| Cinematography | Maurizio Calvesi |
| Editing by | Belinda Haas |
| Release date(s) | 5 May 2000 |
| Running time | 115 min |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The novella was filmed in 2000 by Philip Haas. Philip Haas is an American film director and screenwriter perhaps best known for his 1995 film Angels and Insects. William Somerset Maugham, CH ( January 25 1874 &ndash December 16 1965) was an English Playwright, Kristin A Scott Thomas, OBE (born 24 May 1960) is a highly acclaimed Olivier Award, BAFTA winning and Academy Award Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an Academy Award - and Golden Globe -winning American Film Actor Giuseppe "Pino" Donaggio is a Composer from Burano, Italy. Events 553 - The Second Council of Constantinople begins 1215 - Rebel Barons renounce their allegiance to King John 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The year 2000 in film involved some significant events Events Top grossing films Please note that following the tradition of the Philip Haas is an American film director and screenwriter perhaps best known for his 1995 film Angels and Insects. The movie starred Kristin Scott Thomas, Anne Bancroft, James Fox, Derek Jacobi, and Sean Penn. Kristin A Scott Thomas, OBE (born 24 May 1960) is a highly acclaimed Olivier Award, BAFTA winning and Academy Award Anne Bancroft ( September 17 1931 – June 6 2005) was an American method Actress. James Fox, (born 19 May 1939) is an English Actor. Biography Early life James Fox was born in London to Sir Derek George Jacobi CBE (ˈdʒækəbi born 22 October, 1938) is an English Actor and Film director, knighted Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an Academy Award - and Golden Globe -winning American Film Actor In the film, subplots were added to expand the material to feature film length, a fact on which reviewers as well as cinemagoers commented rather critically. A subplot, sometimes referred to as a "B story" or a "C story" and so on is a secondary plot strand that is auxiliary to the main plot
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