RE:Villanova timeline... is this accurate?
(Date Posted:02/23/2008 02:08:22)
It's really important that you don't super-impose a modern, western morality and mindset on the Vodacce, particularly the Villanova. If you do so, they will likely not make sense on any number of different levels, not the least of which is the treatment of noble wives.
Vodacce men occupy a state of dominance in their society that grants them both privileges and (believe it or not) responsibilities alike. In our modern mindset the supports gender equality, the privileges seem obvious exploitation, and the responsibilities hardly seem much compensation to the average Vodacce noble wife. But to them, it is a very normal state of affairs. One that neither questions because, honestly, neither has any reason to question it. A Vodacce nobleman treats his wife as a servant because, frankly and bluntly speaking, that is EXACTLY what she is. And, in the normal course of events, neither would likely recognize anything wrong with that situation at all. It is, after all, manifest throughout the society that both man and woman were raised their entire life within.
At the same time, however, Vodacce nobleman are inevitably afraid of their strega wives, for obvious reasons. They have a power too, and it is one that Vodacce noblemen cannot ever have. Sure, it may be a power that can be controlled, but it can only rarely be dominated completely. One sees that fear manifest in the degrees of respect accorded wives that are very apparent in Vodacce society (degrees that, according to our modern mindsets, might be unconsciously accepted and dismissed as no big deal). For instance, Vodacce society may accept male infidelity, but it MANDATES that such infidelity follow a very structured set of rules. A Vodacce man may dally with a courtesan away from the home, but such MUST remain away from the home. Further, that courtesan will NEVER be part of that Vodacce man's household, and will certainly never rule it the way his wife does (consider how often a Vodacce man might be absent from his house, and then hazard a shrewd guess who actually runs the domestic show...whether she can read and do math or not!). The offspring of any affair will NEVER inherit their father's fortune, no matter what (unless the wife proves barren, and even then that nobleman's family is likely act to intercede to keep property and fortune within the real family...).
Obviously, Giovanni Villanova, because of who he is and because he's a cut above most Vodacce men, likely plays a bit more free with some of these society characteristics than perhaps most of his (sort of) peers do. As powerful as he is, however, it is fairly telling nonetheless to consider how closely he still seems to follow his societies rules. However, his ability to be more free with the rules just makes him more exception to the rule than any actual dispute of the overall rules in Vodacce society (his power base, as much as any other Vodacce nobleman's, is founded firmly on the existance and adherance of all to those rules, if only superficially).
Considered in light of the above, it might become a bit clearer what the authors of the Vodacce sourcebook (and, indeed, the Sophia's Daughters sourcebook later on too) intended.
Frank the Wanderer
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"You're going to find
that many of the
truths we cling to
depend greatly on our
own point of view."
- Obi-Wan Kenobi
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