In Rome, and especially at that time, it was in the power of
parents to use the most despotic means for subduing the will of
their children. There was even a law by which a disobedient son or
daughter could be imprisoned for a considerable length of time,
provided that the father could prove that his child had rebelled
against his just will. Though Gouache was not aware of this, the
fact that a similar institution existed in his own country made
him suspect that it was to be found in Rome also. Supposing that
Montevarchi refused to accept him for a son-in-law, and that
Faustina, on the other hand, refused to marry young Frangipani, it
was only too probable that she might be locked up--in a
luxuriously furnished cell of course--to reflect upon the error of
her ways. It was by no means certain that in the face of such
humiliation and suffering Faustina would continue her resistance;
indeed, she could hardly be blamed if she yielded in the end.
Gouache believed in the sincerity of her love because the case was
his own; had he heard of it in the life of another man he would
have laughed at the idea that a girl of eighteen could be capable
of a serious passion.
It is not necessary, however, to enter into an analysis of the
motives and feelings of either Faustina or Anastase.
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