In both, ‘Vendetta’ and ‘The Schoolteacher’s Guest’ both women, Widow Saverini and Ines have different reactions to when they find out about the death of their beloved sons.
Ines in The Schoolteacher’s Guest she was crushed to hear what happened to her beloved son, but she knew revenge would happen one day. Ines did not rush to get her revenge for murdering her son because she knew that the killer of her son would come back one day. When that one-day comes around she would know that the killer, who had once accidently shot her son would finally be gone and she will have had her revenge. Ines felt that there was no rush to get her revenge, so Ines took her time and knew one day it would come. Ines knew that she felt revenge was the right thing to do because he was all she had left from her fleeting love affair. Ines found it personally excitable for herself to commit another murder for the reason of revenge.
In ‘Vendetta’ Widow Saverini is torn about her son’s tragic death. Widow Saverini was very emotional over the death and was left alone with her only companion, her dog, Semillante who stays by her side throughout the whole story. Widow Saverini starts to plan her revenge right away. ‘Never fear, never fear, you shall be avenged, my son, my little son, my poor child. You may sleep in peace. You shall be avenged, I tell you. You have your mother’s word, and you know she never breaks it.’ Widow Saverini says that she promises her son revenge and she gives her dead son her word and tells him she will not break it. Widow Saverini feel that it is culturally and personally acceptable to get her revenge on Nicolas Ravolati who took her beloved son’s life away, leaving Widow Saverini all alone to deal with the death of her only son. Having nothing else to do because she is all alone in her lonely, rough town, Widow Saverini plans her revenge imminently.
Both women, Ines and Widow Saverini both have there own way of taking revenge upon the murderers of their sons. Widow Saverini, in ‘Vendetta’ plans immediately to take her revenge, but in ‘The Schoolteacher’s Guest’ Ines takes her time in for her revenge. Ines did not go to look for him, but Ines waiting for the killer to come to her.
In ‘Vendetta’, Widow Saverini takes revenge quite seriously and plans it as soon as possible. Widow Saverini uses her dog, Semillante, as part of her revenge scheme. “For three months she accustomed her to this method of attack, and to tear her meals away with her fangs. She was no longer kept on the chain. At a sign from her mistress, the dog would fly at the dummy’s throat.” Widow Saverini trained Semillante with this unusual technique to attack and kill. Widow Saverini wanted to make Nicolas Ravoliti death a severe one by having Semillante shred his neck with the technique Widow Saverini trained her with. Widow Saverini knew that her day would come to take revenge on Nicolas Ravolati. After she was done training Semillante Widow Saverini waiting till the right day came and she would know when that day would come. Widow Saverini Disguises herself as a tattered old beggar man, which to the other people around who saw Widow Saverini, did not see her as Widow Saverini but saw her as the old beggar man. But before Widow Saverini commits her murder of revenge she does something strange and goes to confession and confesses it first. Showing Widow Saverini knows she is going to kill a man and ask God for his help and be on her side. This type of revenge is personally and culturally acceptable to Widow Saverini because in her culture there, it is accepted and revenge is what Widow Saverini’s culture was taught how solve a problem dealing with someone in your family’s death.
In, The Schoolteacher’s Guest Ines takes her time on the revenge because she knew the killer would soon come back to that same little village of Agua Santa. That one day came and it seemed like it was meant to be. The outsider who once lived in that town, who shot her beloved son in the forehead by accident would stay at her boarding house. Ines does her revenge very smoothly. “… She had just cut off the head of a guest in her boarding house”. When Ines presents her murder to her dearest and closest friend Riad Halabi, he is stunned by Ines calmness and that someone he knows she murder someone. Ines took revenge on the outsider with such great calmness and confidence and did not even worry about what her town would think of her. The way Ines is presented by the author with her way of revenge makes it seem more acceptable in the culture since everyone in her town looks up to her, so apparently to Ines they find it acceptable to take revenge. Ines behaviour after her murder seemed very calm and Ines acted like nothing has ever happened and found it personally acceptable to herself.
In ‘Vendetta’ Widow Saverini received no support from her community. Widow Saverini seemed to be pushed into the dark of her community. Widow Saverini had to do everything on her own without any support. And everyone would keep it to themselves.
In ‘The Schoolteacher’s Guest’ her whole community supports Ines. Ines only told one person, who was Riad Halabi who he told his wife who passed it on to others. Since the community is little it spreads fast. The entire community supported Ines one hundred percent by acting like nothing happened, even though they did know what was going on. Everyone in the town seemed to distract the Lieutenant and his men away from it. “The Lieutenant and his men casually made their rounds and then accepted the invitation of the girls at the whorehouse who were celebrating a birthday, they said.” So most of the town went on as normal as Ines and Riad Halabi took the body away from the town. The murder Ines did for revenge was illegal it was acceptable in her town because she was so looked up to, her towns people must have thought it was personally and culturally acceptable also.
Stories, ‘ The Schoolteacher’s Guest’ and ‘ Vendetta’ both deal with ideas of justice and revenge. In ‘ The Schoolteacher’s Guest’ revenge is presented through social hierarchy, opinion and community. Ines used each one of those to maker herself and others think that murdering someone for the fact that who she murdered had killed her beloved son. Ines and her community both found it acceptable to community a murder for revenge upon the outsider who took her sons life. This does show how much she cared for her son for taking someone else’s life for taking her only son. In ‘Vendetta’ it certainly showed Widow Saverini’s opinion on revenge. Widow Saverini wanted her revenge to be a violent and painful one by the way Widow Saverini thought of the idea. This in some way shows how much she cared for her son. To Widow Saverini this is acceptable personally and culturally for Widow Saverini because in her culture revenge is taken in parts of her beliefs.
Revenge is found both in ‘ Vendetta’ and ‘ The Schoolteacher’s Guest’ personally and culturally acceptable by the way the author presents them.
