I do not believe that Ambrosio ever truly loved either of his mistresses. His state of mind, personality, and upbringing do not strike me as having qualities that foster love. His extreme affections for the two girls should rather have the label of lust.
Love is a curious subject to which there are many definitions. Ambrosio questions Antonia whether or not she has felt the effects of a man who she may be in love with, "Have you seen no man, Antonia, whom, though never seen before, you seemed long to have sought? whose form, though a stranger's was familiar to your eyes? the sound of whose voice soothes you, pleased you, penetrated to your very soul? in whose presence you rejoiced, for whose absence you lamented? with whom your heart seemed to expand, and in whose bosom, with confidence unbounded, you reposed the cares of your own?" (Pg 224) Upon infatuation with Antonia, he abandoned Matilda's bed and pined for that of Antonia. Ambrosio, at the time of his questioning, was boiling with madness for Antonia's embrace, and so it was reflected in his opinion of love. This is apparent in the words and subjects he used to describe it: familiar form, soothing, pleasing and penetrating voice, expanding heart and bosom. His deprivation of pleasure, previously satisfied by Matilda, left him desperate for such an encounter with the new object of his fantasies. He was bluntly set on having his way with Antonia and this state of mind does not strike me as being romantically in love. In the same manner, Ambrosio was too preoccupied with exploring the prospect of Matilda's charms and pleasures to be too interested in her personality and, thus, did not romantically love her.
Due to the circumstances of his monk upbringing he should only have been permitted the love of heaven and that of friends. At the same time he was deprived exposure to romantic love. This contributes to Ambrosio's lack of it when dealing with his mistresses. He does not love them properly because he does not know how to. Ignorance has left him uneducated in such arts. Ambrosio had no idea how to approach Matilda, in her moment of suicidal intentions, and only knew of seduction to secure Antonia's fate with him. His lack of knowledge and experience inevitably doomed both his mistresses.
Ambrosio's personality is such that, in his love life, he needs constantly increasing stimulation in order to sustain gratification. This becomes extremely apparent when he discovers he can no longer stand the company of Matilda and her favors of love. The narrator comments, "Her charms becoming accustomed to him, they ceased to excite the same desires which at first they had inspired. The delirium of passion being past, he had leisure to observe every trifling defect; where none were to be found, satiety made him fancy them. ... when the moment of passion was over, he quitted her with disgust, and his humour, naturally inconstant, made him sigh impatiently for variety." (Pg 202-203) The narrator helps the reader to understand his personality to this extent and, once again, it is apparent that physical pleasure is a prevalent theme. His character thrives on this passion of the body and with this observation comes to light a preference that reflects his flightly personality. This obsession, again, does little to kindle romantic love.
Ambrosio's lack of experience and theme of bodily pleasure, in both his mind and personality, had left his romantic life to ruin. If he ever intended to love Matilda or Antonia it never became apparent, for his insatiable lust for their lovely charms distracted this noble pursuit. With these hindrances, it is not possible for Ambrosio to have ever loved the two girls for anything more than the moment of physical satisfaction.
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Nice post, Kindling. I think you're right to question Ambrosio's warped sense of "love" , but I can't help but think about other male characters in this novel and if their feelings of love are a bit dubious, as well. Lorenzo, for instance, supposedly "falls in love" with Antonio in their first meeting. Consider this back and forth between the young paramour and Don Christoval on page 25:
ReplyDelete"I should be a villian, could I think of her on any other terms than marriage; and in truth she seems possessed of every quality requisite to make me happy in a wife--young, lovely, gentle, sensible--"
"Sensible? Why, she said nothing but Yes and No."
"She did not say much more, I must confess--but then she always said Yes or No in the right place."
Oh, be still my beating heart. You say in your post about Ambrosio's feelings about Matilda that "Ambrosio was too preoccupied with exploring the prospect of Matilda's charms and pleasures to be too interested in her personality and, thus, did not romantically love her." Could we say the same thing about Lorenzo, especially given what happens at the end of the novel when he trades in Antonia "the old model," for a shiny new model--Virginia? Also, consider Don Raymond's rape/seduction (?) of Agnes--were his feelings that far removed from Ambrosio's?