“O, death’s a great disguiser, and you
may add to it. Shave the head, and tie the beard, and
say it was the desire of the penitent to be so bared
before his death. You know the course is common.”
“Thus stands it with me: upon a true contract
I got possession of Julietta’s bed.
You know the lady. She is fast my wife,
Save that we do the denunciation lack
Of outward order:”
“Be you content, fair maid.
It is the law, not I, condemn your brother.
Were he my kinsman, brother, or my son,
It should be thus with him. He must die tomorrow. ”
After the painter kills himself, leaving a note that does little to explain why he does not want to live any longer, Claudio can naturally think of nothing else except the infernal “Why?”
His friend had lived upstairs, where Claudio had visited him almost every day; this man had encouraged Claudio’s artistic bent, and talked with him about about life, art, and politics. A
Written with remarkable, sustained intensity, this novel tells how Claudio slowly sorts though his intense feelings and comes to an uneasy peace with the fact of his friend’s death.