Mrs. Fasano's thought: a novella by
Alberto Moravia (Racconti Surrealistici e Satirici)
Il Pensiero della Signora Fasano: una
novella di Alberto Moravia
One is never too cautious when hiring a
new housemaid, Mrs. Fasano thought.
Eventually, however, Mrs. Fasano found,
or so she thought, someone
who, although not perfect, seemed to be right for the job. A
twenty-five-year-old girl from Abruzzo, simple and candid. Her rosy
cheeks and robust build were a sign of tenacity and good attitude
towards work; the expression of her blue eyes and smile indicated
reliability, innocence and perhaps the absence of a “fiancé”.
After having briefly talked about board
and lodging, laundry and Sunday “freedom”, Mrs. Fasano inquired
about her past experience. Rosa, this was the girl's name, said that
she had worked for the countess Folaga-Picchio for five years.
What a coincidence – the countess
Folaga-Picchio was a socially prominent woman and Mrs. Fasano aspired
to be invited to her house. Asking her for information could be an
excuse to establish a contact, not a great excuse, it's true, but in
any case...
In the morning, Mrs. Fasano called the
countess stating immediately and in a very courteous manner that the
maid was the reason for her call: “I know you are very busy and I
know I am disturbing you... but as you know... nowadays... you never
know who you come across... I am sure you understand.” The countess
rejected that veiled invitation to use a friendly tone and said
sharply that Rosa was absolutely commendable. “The only
inconvenience,” she added after hesitating for a little while, “is
that she is an angel.”
“Really?” exclaimed Mrs. Fasano,
“an angel... and you call that an inconvenience?”
The countess, who was getting a little
impatient, explained that she didn't mean an angel in the sense of
“good as an angel”; Rosa was a real angel, with wings and a
halo
over
her head.
“Now
you understand,” concluded the countess, “that an angel is always
an angel.. out of the house maybe.. but in the house... we took her
in for five years, also considering she is an orphan... but
eventually we had to let
her go... you can try though... it
may work out for you.” The countess briefly added a couple of more
things, and then cutting the conversation short, said bye and hung
up.
Once
having
obtained
the
information desired, Mrs. Fasano reflected on the advantages
and disadvantages
of the situation. Rosa was an angel and this was a great
inconvenience according to the countess, and although she wasn't very
familiar with angels, she certainly didn't have any
good reason to question the words
of the countess.
She
was good at her job, however, as the countess had confirmed.
Just to be certain, Mrs. Fasano decided
to talk about it with her husband, who was brief and rather brutal:
“Whether or not she is an angel is none of my business... as long
as she irons my pants, polishes
my shoes and answers the door.”
After a long hesitation, Mrs. Fasano
decided to offer the girl a probationary period. But she wanted to
make sure to take
advantage, here and there, of this unusual situation. “I will take
you in,” she said to Rosa, “but the countess Folaga-Picchio told
me you are an angel...” she paused for a moment hoping that Rosa
would deny it; but Rosa just blushed and lowered her gaze, “and so
you understand that I can't offer you as much as I offered the
others... you must be content with a thousand lira less.”
“As you wish, Madam,” said the
angel gently.
After a few days, Mrs. Fasano realized
that she didn't like angels at all, in fact she felt a strong
aversion towards them. Mrs. Fasano vented her feelings of aversion by
deliberately giving Rosa the hardest time possible. For instance,
after Rosa had swept the floor in the living room, Mrs. Fasano
pretended to notice a speck of dust somewhere and made her clean
again, this time on her knees and with her hands, while she stood
nearby pointing out the dirty spots; the brass utensils were never
shiny enough for her and the windows
had to be cleaned by stepping on the window sill.
“You are filthy,” Mrs. Fasano went
on repeating all day, “you are so filthy.” Not to mention when
Mrs. Fasano got dressed: she had cruel demands, and just to choose
and put on her socks she had poor Rosa get
down on her knees with her bare foot on her lap for a good
half hour.
But, as everyone knows, angels are
patient; and Rosa truly excelled at this virtue. Mrs. Fasano, after
waiting in vain for Rosa to make a mistake when performing her tasks,
and after finding her truly perfect, came to the conclusion that the
only, yet great inconvenience, was precisely that the girl was an
angel. But how did this inconvenience show? And how could she use it
to her advantage?
One Sunday morning
when Rosa was out, Mrs. Fasano went to her room and searched
meticulously the three dresser's drawers and the small fabric
suitcase, only to find one dress, her only change
of clothes, some shabby
linens and a few other rags.
Those ragged clothes did not seem
fitting for an angel, nor did the wooden brush and the half broken
comb, which composed all of Rosa's toiletries. Her room, furthermore,
did not smell like angel, but rather of inexpensive violet soap.
Therefore, Mrs. Fasano decided to spy
on Rosa. She vaguely told herself that if the angel spread her wings
when she was alone, by pulling them out of her shoulders as you pull
your legs out of the gaming
tables, that would be enough to fire her: you don't belong in
a respectable house if you have wings, despite the fact that they may
be hidden.
Mrs. Fasano hid behind Rosa's window,
in the garden: she saw her getting undressed, brushing her hair and
arranging it in a braid,
putting on a long nightgown, sneaking in bed and turning off the
light, but no wings. Even the halo, typical of angels, would be a
good pretext to send Rosa away: “You can't serve meals with a halo,
it simply can't be done... you have your
lace bonnet and you must be content with that...”. But
however hard Mrs. Fasano looked, she couldn't see any halo.
Nonetheless, Mrs. Fasano was certain:
Rosa was definitely an angel. She didn't know why, as she sometimes
said to her husband, but there was something about that girl, a
number of things... a certain air... One day Mrs. Fasano finally told
her husband: “I decided to fire Rosa... she may be good, she may be
perfect... but I don't want angels in my house.”
And so Rosa was sent away. Mrs. Fasano
said a few words to comfort Rosa when she saw tears in her eyes.
Also, she wanted to make sure not to be misunderstood: “My dear,”
she added, “you are not stupid and I am sure you understand... you
have many good qualities, you are serious, hard working, honest...
but you are an angel... this will always keep you from working in
respectable households for long periods of time.” Having said that,
Mrs. Fasano agreed to writing a good reference letter for Rosa,
without mention of the angel matter.
A few days later, Mrs. Avocetta phoned
to find out more about Rosa. “She is good,” answered Mrs. Fasano,
“very good...but I must warn you... she is an angel.”
- The end -
