What is PIAZZA's "tricky game"?

[Sweevil]

There are a few lines in LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA I don't understand. Maybe
someone can explain this one at the very start:

MARGARET: What happened here? I played a tricky game in a foreign
country. What did I do?

What tricky game? Is this a scrap of framing story? Is she referring
to the current trip to Italy with her daughter or the earlier one with
her husband? Is she stepping out of the scene (which occurs
chronologically before Clara and Fabrizio have even met) and commenting
on the story as if it's already happened?

There's probably a very simple explanation I'm missing ...

[chromolume]

Post by Sweevil
There are a few lines in LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA I don't understand. Maybe
MARGARET: What happened here? I played a tricky game in a foreign
country. What did I do?
What tricky game? Is this a scrap of framing story? Is she referring
to the current trip to Italy with her daughter or the earlier one with
her husband? Is she stepping out of the scene (which occurs
chronologically before Clara and Fabrizio have even met) and commenting
on the story as if it's already happened?
There's probably a very simple explanation I'm missing ...

She is indeed stepping out of the scene, and commenting on the story we
are about to see. (And whereas this line does seem odd on the
recording, the staging made it clear to me (though subtly so) that this
line was not happening as a linear part of the story.

And, though I have yet to read the original novel, someone told me this
line does appear toward the end of the book. Seems that Lucas must have
been taken by the phrase, and wanted to play his own "tricky game" with
it. :-)

As for the "tricky game" itself - if you've seen the show, some of
Margaret's maneuvering should speak for itself. :-)

[Sweevil]

The staging of the moment was not entirely clear to me, but it
certainly makes sense as you explain it. One might quibble that it's a
little early in the show to give us a single sentence and expect us to
understand it's part of Margaret's after-the-fact narration, which is
established a little later.

The movie version, incidentally, with Olivia de Havilland is excellent
and quite moving. They've been showing it on cable a lot since the
musical came out.

Post by chromolume

Post by Sweevil
There are a few lines in LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA I don't understand. Maybe
MARGARET: What happened here? I played a tricky game in a foreign
country. What did I do?
What tricky game? Is this a scrap of framing story? Is she referring
to the current trip to Italy with her daughter or the earlier one with
her husband? Is she stepping out of the scene (which occurs
chronologically before Clara and Fabrizio have even met) and commenting
on the story as if it's already happened?
There's probably a very simple explanation I'm missing ...

She is indeed stepping out of the scene, and commenting on the story we
are about to see. (And whereas this line does seem odd on the
recording, the staging made it clear to me (though subtly so) that this
line was not happening as a linear part of the story.
And, though I have yet to read the original novel, someone told me this
line does appear toward the end of the book. Seems that Lucas must have
been taken by the phrase, and wanted to play his own "tricky game" with
it. :-)
As for the "tricky game" itself - if you've seen the show, some of
Margaret's maneuvering should speak for itself. :-)

[lclough]

Post by chromolume
And, though I have yet to read the original novel, someone told me this
line does appear toward the end of the book. Seems that Lucas must have
been taken by the phrase, and wanted to play his own "tricky game" with
it. :-)

I have the book now and am reading. Will report back.

Brenda
--
---------
Brenda W. Clough
http://www.sff.net/people/Brenda/

Recent short fiction:
FUTURE WASHINGTON (WSFA Press, October '05)
http://www.futurewashington.com

FIRST HEROES (TOR, May '04)
http://members.aol.com/wenamun/firstheroes.html

[lclough]

The phrase in the novel comes at the end, after Clara's wedding
to Fabrizio. "[Margaret] had done her job, and she knew it.
She had played, single-handed and unadvised, a tricky game in a
foreign country, and she had managed to realize from it the
dearest wish of her heart."

The 'dearest wish' was defined earlier in the text, as her wish
that Clara would lead a normal life. It is not clear to the
reader, nor Margaret, whether Fabrizio and his family are aware
that Clara has a disability. However, what seemed to be an
overwhelming disability in America seems to be not very
important in Italy. Maybe they know and just don't care.

The 'tricky' bit does not seem to involve deceiving the
Italians. It seems to revolve around Clara's father, who is
going to arrive the day after the wedding and would (Margaret
confidently expects) absolutely bollix up the union. So she has
got Clara to the altar just in time.

Brenda
--
---------
Brenda W. Clough
http://www.sff.net/people/Brenda/

Recent short fiction:
FUTURE WASHINGTON (WSFA Press, October '05)
http://www.futurewashington.com

FIRST HEROES (TOR, May '04)
http://members.aol.com/wenamun/firstheroes.html