Sabatini

Overview

«Mme Sabatini, l'Italienne» (Mon Journal t.4 index: «Sabatini (Mme), Italienne», pp. 223–360; t.5 pp. 58–195; t.6 p. 28), an Italian lady who walks with Marie at Nice every day from November 1874 to autumn 1875 to practise Italian conversation. Her first name is not given.

Relevance to Marie

Her role is stated at the first appearance: «Je me suis promenée à pied avec Mme Sabatini, l'Italienne qui vient pour parler et je dois avouer que je ne parle pas mal la langue de Dante» (027.0046, 27 November 1874). She then appears almost daily on the Promenade: with Victor the dog (027.0188, 027.0229), in different dresses (030.0135, 032.0348), at the sea baths (033.0292, 033.0490), and again at the autumn «conversations italiennes» when she reads Marie Nicolo de' Lapi (045.0379; presumably Massimo d'Azeglio's novel). On 17 July 1875 she tells Marie her dream about Marie's luminous eyes (037.0204). The diary treats her as a companion, not a friend; the walks are for language practice.

On 28 December 1874, out walking with Sabatini and Victor, Marie crosses the street to avoid an Italian gentleman and his dog, and the two dogs fight lightly (028.0058).

References in Diary

• 1874-11-27 (027.0046); 1874-12-07/11/14/18/28 (027.0188, 027.0229, 027.0250, 027.0299, 028.0058); 1875-01-02 to 1875-10-01 (028.0116, 028.0189, 029.0149, 030.0135, 030.0449, 032.0348, 032.0388, 033.0292, 033.0490, 033.0493, 037.0204, 045.0379)

Sources

Diary as quoted; Mon Journal t.4–6 indexes (content/_raw/tome04.docx–tome06.docx).