A Venetian Affair by Andrea Di Robilant Page B

things she heard about Andrea, because so much of his life was invisible to her, out of reach. The rumors were all the more hurtful because they reverberated in circles to which she was admitted but to which she did not truly belong. Giustiniana knew or was acquainted with most of Andrea’s friends and was a welcome guest in the houses of many patrician families. But even though the veil of social discrimination was perhaps not as visible as elsewhere in Europe, it was very real; it governed Venetian society in subtle and less subtle ways—as in the case of marriage. When Giustiniana wrote to Andrea about his woman friends, there was often an undercurrent of anxiety that went quite beyond a natural romantic jealousy.
    Still, she had her own little ways of getting back at him.
    As Andrea and Giustiniana struggled to clear up the misunderstanding about his role in their friends’ affair, Mariettina threw one of her celebrated balls on the Giudecca—an island separated from the southern side of Venice by a wide canal, where patricians had pleasure houses with gardens and vineyards. This was one of the major social events of the season. Preparations went on for days. Young Venetian ladies had a notorious taste for luxury. They liked to wear rich and elaborate but relatively comfortable outfits, so they could move with greater ease during the minuets and
furlane,
a popular dance that originated from the Friuli region. They spent hours having their hair coiffed into tall beehives, which they decorated with gems and golden pins. Their long fingernails were polished in bright colors. They drenched themselves with exotic perfume and chose their beauty spots with special care (the
appassionata
was worn in the corner of the eye, the
coquette
above the lip, the
galante
on the chin, and the
assassina—
the killer—in the corner of the mouth). 1 They carried large, exquisitely embroidered fans and wore strings of pearls and diamonds. High heels had long been out of fashion: Venetian ladies preferred more sensible low evening shoes, often decorated with a diamond buckle. These were fabulously expensive but very comfortable, especially for dancing. Men wore the traditional French costume: silk long jacket, knee-length culottes, and white stockings. Elaborate cuffs and jabots of lace from the island of Burano gave a Venetian touch to their attire. Their elegant evening wigs were combed and groomed for the occasion.
    Mariettina’s ball offered a chance for Andrea and Giustiniana to see each other and clarify things once and for all. But Giustiniana, still feeling vexed by the whole imbroglio, was not in the mood for such a demanding social event. She sent this note to Andrea just as he was dressing for the evening:
    If the bad weather continues I will certainly not come to Marietta Corner’s
festa.
You know my mother and how she fears the
wind. She has warned that she will not cross the canal if there is
the slightest bit of wind. In the end it is probably better that such a
reasonable pretext should excuse me from coming as I believe you
and I would both have a terrible time. . . . Still I will try to convince my mother to get over her fear—I hope you will acknowledge my goodwill. I have already opted for a new course:
henceforth you will be able to do as you please; I will neither complain nor bother you with accusations. When you will cause me
displeasure I will try to convince myself that you won’t have done
so out of ill will but because you do not believe I am sensitive to
those things. . . . By the way, all those pleas for forgiveness and
that habit you have of carrying on exactly in the same manner
even though you know you o fend me—I really cannot stand it.
The truth is, I will continue to give you proof of my real affection
while you will hurt me more and more. And who knows if all my
suffering will change you one day. . . . Good-bye now, Memmo. I
would not want to keep you from your toilette.
    In the end Giustiniana did