Romola · Chapter
LXVIII: Romola’s Waking explained
Romola wakes in her boat after a night of drifting, finding herself in a peaceful Mediterranean cove.
What happens
Romola wakes in her boat after a night of drifting, finding herself in a peaceful Mediterranean cove. The tranquility is broken by a child's cry, leading her to a hovel where she discovers three dead bodies and a living infant. She takes the child and seeks help in a nearby village, but finds it deserted and stricken by pestilence, with signs of abandonment and death. She encounters a sick woman and a fearful priest, and her presence and words take on a miraculous quality for the priest, who had been told of a vision of the Madonna with the Babe.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
Romola’s repeated reading of the printed Trial marks the emotional and psychological peak because it forces he…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Redemption and Moral Choice
Romola's decision to help the child and the sick, despite her own despair, marks a turn towards selfless action and a new life.
- Female Agency and Marriage
Romola, having fled her marriage, exercises her own will in choosing to care for others, independent of male authority.
Characters to notice
- Romola de' Bardi
Wakes from a night of drifting, finds a new purpose in caring for a child and the sick, showing her resilience and compassion.
- Tito Melema
Mentioned in Romola's dream of the Bargello, representing the past she is trying to escape.
Key passages
“Instead of bringing her to death, it had been the gently lulling cradle of a new life.”
The boat that she thought would carry her to death has instead become a cradle for her rebirth.
Romola's realization that her escape from Florence has not led to death but to a new beginning.
“She felt no burden of choice on her now, no longing for death. She was thinking how she would go to the other sufferers, as she had gone to that fevered woman.”
She no longer felt the weight of decision or a desire to die; instead, she was focused on helping others as she had helped the sick woman.
Romola's shift from despair to purposeful action.
