Carlo tries to explain that his recollections and thoughts about Francesco’s body are not ‘obscene’ and that they are ‘precious, exquisite and pure.’ This shows that Carlo’s love is genuine and not based upon Francesco’s physical characteristics, no matter how much it comes across as being of a physical nature. I think this is de Bernières way of showing the reader that homosexual relationships exist and they too involve physical attraction just as much as heterosexual relationships. This is again shown when Carlo says that they are for the ‘private museum each of us carries in our heads.’ This line involves the audience, as they are able to understand what Carlo is going through and understand that these vivid images of Francesco’s body he describes are not uncommon and surreal, as they may first appear to be. However, to some readers it may sound over exaggerated because they may not fully appreciate that homosexual relationships are ‘normal’ and if Carlo were describing a female in this way, it would not seem as being so repulsive.
In all of the ‘L’Omosessuale chapters Carlo emphasises that he feels ‘condemned to wear a mask.’ This shows the reader how alone and trapped he feels. He feels unable to tell anyone for two reasons, he would lose his reputation and job, and it does not fit in with society’s expectations. This is shown when Carlo says that he ‘must marry and lead the life of a normal man.’ During the war, the Nazis targeted homosexuals because Hitler felt that they were not ‘normal’ and were a threat to the Aryan race, which Hitler wanted to create. Carlo’s hurt and pain are emphasised effectively through his vivid descriptions and examples. Carlo’s phrase ‘ I am someone who is the only person in the world that knows the truth and yet is forbidden to utter it,’ is the most shocking. Carlo shows a great awareness of how he would be seen in the eyes of society. He thinks that the chaplain would say that it is a ‘perversion, an abomination in the sight of God’ this shows the social status of homosexuals during the war and that it was not as widely accepted unlike today whereby more people accept homosexuality as ‘normal’. The reader is also told that Carlo thinks that he would not have been a homosexual if “God had not meddled with him in [his] mother’s womb.” This helps the reader to try to accept Carlo for what he is and not judge him. It also emphasises that he has not chosen to be a homosexual and that if he could change his sexuality he would.
Carlo tries to tell the reader that “[he] is not a misogynist” and for him to have a male partner is as ‘normal’ as it is for a heterosexual male to have a female partner. He also says “the company of a woman is painful which shows his homosexuality is not just a matter of physical taste but a choice between men and women in all their aspects. He also reveals that as a young boy he had to “flirt with girls,” this reveals that he felt, even as a young boy, unable to make choices and had to do things in order to stop society from talking about him. All of this repression of his true sexual orientation has made Carlo “more lonely than it ought to be possible to feel.” This theme of Carlo’s loneliness is emphasised throughout the novel. I think that de Bernières does this so that the reader is able to fully understand Carlo’s feelings and feel sympathy towards him.
In the L’Omosessuale chapters, de Bernières depicts the love of Carlo for Francesco with as much sympathy as he shows to any other relationships. I feel that he de Bernières shows more sympathy towards this relationship than he does, for example Mandras and Pelagia’s relationship. This may be due to de Bernières wanting to give this relationship as much respect as any other heterosexual relationship and to show that homosexuals are not abnormal as they are sometimes perceived to be. Some people, even today, still see homosexuals as being socially inferior to themselves and therefore, for de Bernières to portray this relationship as he does in this book is good as it shows that homosexuals are ‘normal’. It also helps the reader to try to accept them in society and allow them to have the same rights as heterosexual couples.
In Chapter 19, Carlo is telling Francesco’s mother about Francesco’s death. Carlo lies to Francesco’s mother and makes the death sound much less gruesome than it really was. De Bernières structures this chapter in an effective way with Carlo telling Francesco’s mother and then below the truth is revealed to the reader in brackets. For example, the reader is told that “some of the fluid was bright red and some of it was crimson” this is very descriptive and Francesco’s mother is told “he died very quickly.” I think that Carlo lies to Francesco’s mother in order to prevent her from feeling anymore upset. Carlo’s replies to Francesco’s mother are relatively short, and lack detail, however, this is compensated for when the truth is revealed to the reader. De Bernières puts in great detail and develops the sentences to emphasise the extent to which the awful reality of Francesco’s death is etched into Carlo’s brain and how much effort he has to make to suppress this information with Francesco’s mother. Carlo tells Francesco’s mother the last thing he said was “the name of the Virgin,” however; the reader is told that in fact they were not to forget to “kill that bastard Rivolta.” One of the Ten Commandments in The Bible is ‘Thou shall not kill” this is a strikingly ironic contrast between the stereotypical religious feelings of Francesco’s mother and Francesco’s utterly disillusioned dying wish for revenge. At the same time, it reminds us of the attraction of opposites Francesco holds out for Carlo. The stylish expression of his real, cynical feelings as opposed to Carlo’s noble and tragic enforced repression of his love. Another occasion when Carlo lies is when asked if Francesco died on a good day Carlo replies “he died on a fine day” but then the truth is revealed in brackets, “he died on a day when the snow was melting.” The “snow melting” is symbolic of tears, which Carlo felt when Francesco died, and the repression of his tears to protect Francesco’s mother. After reading this chapter some readers may feel that Carlo is utterly self denying and ‘noble’ and that he represses his own feelings of grief and pain of the reality of Francesco’s death in order to save the feelings of Francesco’s mother. On the other hand, it makes us think about the sickening way that death in the war was portrayed and that if people like Francesco’s mother were exposed to the truth they may protest against the war. However, some may feel that Carlo is being too noble and should tell Francesco’s mother the truth about her son’s death.
De Bernières shows the reader that Francesco and Carlo both like each other and feel that each would be a “better son” than the other to Francesco’s mother. In Francesco’s letter to his mother, Francesco uses many positive adjectives like, “good,” “gentle” and “loyal.” This shows that Francesco can see Carlo for his decent human qualities and that Francesco too enjoys the company of Carlo. The fact that we are never shown what Francesco thinks allows us to experience something of Carlo’s enforced distance from Francesco. It also lets us wonder about what might have been. Francesco is capable of a homosexual relationship too, but is even more than Carlo, unaware of his real feelings. When Francesco is dying and tells Carlo that “[he] feels good with [him].” Francesco may not have said anything earlier because he was afraid of being rejected. However, Carlo shows nobility and love for Francesco when he “offers [himself] to their guns” to prevent Francesco from dying. I think that this is the greatest and most powerful gesture Carlo shows the reader to emphasise his love for Francesco. This shows that if Francesco had revealed his feelings earlier in the novel then perhaps he and Carlo may have had a relationship.
Carlo sets out to be a hero and becomes one, but tragically has to suppress the expressions and emotions of his love to the extent of him “bursting with grief and bitterness” over Francesco’s death.