A gothic novel written by Ann Radcliffe and published in 1797, The Italian concerns a young couple driven apart by the scheming of the young man’s family and a corrupt monk, Schedoni.
Tropes Present In The Italian.
- Cool Big Sis: Olivia behaves this way to Ellena before the Reveal.
- Corrupt Church
- Creepy Uncle: Schedoni.
- Damsel in Distress: Ellena has plenty of moments of this. She has her fiances mother and Count Schedoni after her, is taken away early from her aunt, is kidnapped, is stuck in a convent and just generally finds herself in large amounts of danger.
- Earn Your Happy Ending
- Either/Or Title: The Italian, or the Confessional of the Black Penitents.
- Evil Uncle: Schedoni is this to Ellena.
- If I Can't Have You…: If Schedoni can’t have the woman he loves, then he will kill her.
- Long-Lost Relative: Sister Olivia is really Ellena’s long-lost mother.
- Love at First Sight: Vincentio di Vivaldi loved Ellena Rosalba from when he first saw her.
- Love Makes You Crazy: It was love for Ellena’s mother that initially drove Schedoni down his destructive path.
- Love Makes You Evil: Schedoni is this all over.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Schedoni believes himself to be Ellena's father. He turns out to be her uncle instead.
- Missing Mom: Ellena’s mother is presumed dead.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Schedoni has a moment like this when he discovers who Ellena is and after he thought he had killed his wife.
- Parental Marriage Veto: Vincentio’s mother went to great lengths to keep her son from marrying Ellena.
- Parental Substitute: Ellena was raised by her aunt.
- Sinister Minister: Seeing as this work and The Monk have so much is common, this is a given. Schedoni is motivated by pride, lust and greed and is responsible for all of the troubles Ellena has gone through as well as for her not having parents.
- The Spanish Inquisition
- Take That!: Written in response to Lewis' The Monk, which Ann Radcliffe was disgusted with.
- Villain Protagonist: Schedoni.
- Villainous Crush: Schedoni has one for Countess di Bruno.
