A Safe Place opens with a violent episode that takes place between Lorenzo’s mother and father, Raffaela and Mario. Lorenzo states that the first memory he has of his parents together is when his father is beating his mother.
Relationships
Growing up, Lorenzo’s relationship with his father is a strange one: as a child, Lorenzo has a clear bond with his father, but he is equally scared of his temper and violent outbursts.
Throughout the book, Mario is in debt. He struggles to keep a steady job and borrows money that he doesn’t have from anyone that will loan it to him. His wife manages, on occasion, to save money that she is given; but Mario, in the end, finds it and spends it.
Marriage
The book spends a great deal of time narrating both Raffaela’s and Mario’s previous marriages. Raffaela’s first husband, also named Mario, became ill. It was confirmed that he had terminal stomach cancer; he decided to go and visit his family in Northern Italy. Three weeks after leaving, he died there.
Mario’s marriage to Grace was as turbulent as his marriage to Raffaela would be. Mario was an incredibly jealous man and lashed out at his wife physically. However, there are moments shared between them where Mario’s love for his wife is all-consuming.
Hotel
Grace eventually leaves Mario; she is staying in a hotel when he visits her for what will be the last time. He tries to win her back but she is firm in her resolve that their relationship is over. Mario begins to lose his temper, convinced that Grace has another lover. They physically fight and Grace struggles against her husband, but is pushed down onto the bed. Mario kills her by smothering her with a pillow.
Arrest
Mario confesses to the murder of his wife, claiming that he killed her in a jealous rage after she admitted she was in love with another man. He was arrested and handed a guilty verdict for the crime of second degree manslaughter and was given a sentence of five to fifteen years.
Murder
Lorenzo was ignorant of his father’s crime growing up. He discovers the awful truth about his father when he is fourteen and on holiday with his mother in Ischia:
‘‘‘It’s time you knew the truth,’’ she said. ‘‘About your father.’’
‘‘What about him?’’
‘‘His first wife,’’ she said. ‘‘She didn’t die of cancer.’’
‘‘How did she die?’’
‘‘He murdered her.’’
The knowledge of the murder forever changes Lorenzo’s relationship with his father: this is explored within the book, turning over feelings of hate, love and anger.
Death
Years later, Mario is dying of cancer. Close to death in his hospital bed, he asks his son one question: ‘Do you love me?’ Lorenzo simply says ‘No.’ It is the last time he sees his father alive.
References:
Carcaterra, L., A Safe Place, Arrow Books, London, 1997
Sabrina Louise Webb - My name is Sabrina; I'm 24 and am about to become a graduate for the second time, having just completed my MA in English Literature at ...
