Salvatore

Salvatore is the story of an ordinary Italian fisherman who

has a beautiful character which makes him extraordinary. The
author Wiliam Somerset Maugham has written a tightly knit
plot in 3 segments, the first segment where Salvatore falls in
love, the second segment where he falls ill and the third
segment where he marries Assunta.
The protagonist Salvatore is first portrayed as “a boy of
fifteen with a pleasant face, a laughing mouth and care-free
eyes”. He had a brown body which was as thin as rail.
Salvatore spent most of his time during his boyhood phase
swimming in the sea with clumsy effortless stroke common to
the fisher boys. He enjoyed his freedom. Sal acted as a
nursemaid to his two younger brothers , shouted at them to
come inshore when they ventured too far into the sea and also
made them ready for the frugal midday meal. He took care of
the, as a motherly figure, compassionate and loving.
As Sal grew up he was madly in love with a girl who lived
in the Grande Marina.The poet describes her as “She had
eyes like forest pools and held herself like a daughter of
Ceasers”.They were affianced but could not marry until Sal
had completed his military service.Sal wept like a child when
he had to live the island which he had never left before,poet
brings out his innocence.It was hard for sal who was as free as
birds in the sky to be at the beck and call of others.Harder for
him to live in a battleship with strangers rather than a cottage
amidst the vineyard.When he was ashore he was scared to
cross the noisy unfriendly streets of cities as he was used to
the silent paths of the mountains.Sal realized that the island
Ischia and the mountain Vesuvius,pearly at down were as
much a part of him as his hands and feet were. Sal had a deep
connection with nature.He was a passionate lover and wrote to
his fiancé in long ill-spelt letters in his childlike handwriting ,
the poet brings out his innocence.During his service in China
Sal was diagnosed with rheumatism which made him unfit for
service.Sal “bore it with mute and uncomprehending patience
of a dog” .Sal ignored the Doctors saying that he would never
be fit for all he could think of was being re-united with his
love.
His entire family welcomed him but the girl was not there
with them.Sal later went to meet the girl.The girl was apprised
of his situation and had cancelled the marriage as she could
not marry a man who could not work like a man.Heartbroken,
Sal returned home and wept on his mothers bosom but did not
say any harsh word about the girl.He understood that the girl
could not accept a man who could not support her.Sal love
was pure and true but the girl’s love was based on
conviniance. He understood that a fisherman’s life required
“strength and endurance” and continued to live his life.
A few months later his mother told him that there was a girl
who had had seen him during a festival and was willing to
marry him and her name was Assunta.She was a little older
than him and was engaged to a man ,but he died during his
military service in Africa.She had little money of her own
with which she could buy him a boat.Sal agreed to marry her
and they settled down in a tiny white washed house amidst the
vineyard.Sal was now undergoing his man hood phase and he
was a big ,husky fellow tall and broad but still with the same
trusting kind eyes that he had as a boy.This shows that even
though he has gone through all the hardships in life his
mannerisms are still intact. Assunta is portrayed as a “grim-
visaged female ,with decided features”who looked old for her
age.Assunta has a good heart as she was aware of Sal situation
and still wanted to marry him.Children were born to them.
“It was a hard enough life” for Sal.All through the fishing
season towards the evening Sal set out with one of his
brothers on boat to the fishing grounds which was 7 miles
away where he spent the night catching profitable cuttlefish
and then a long row back again in order to sell the cuttlefish in
time for the early boat to Naples.He would work in his
vineyard form dawn to dusk and took a rest when it was too
hot.When his rheumatism prevented him from doing anything
he would lie about in the beach smoking with a pleasant word
for everyone.Sal never complains of his hardships he had a
habit of communicating with nature.
Sometimes he would take his children for a bath.the elder
was three and the younger was less than two.Although Sal
hand was hard and course due to his constant toil he take very
delicate care while drying his children.
Sal is a story of an ordinary man who possessed “the rarest ,
the most precious and the lovliest quality that anyone can
have” which was the quality of goodness.Everyone has
goodness but God only knows why he has goodness to that
degree.It shone in him with “radiance”.The simplcicity of the
island Ischia is infused in his character.The rocks teach him to
be tolerant,the sky teaches him to be sublime and the sea gives
him the power to withstand the adversities of life.
Qoutes:
1. “a boy of fifteen with a pleasant face, a laughing mouth
and care free eyes”
2. “ She had eyes like forest pools and held herself like a
daughter of the Ceasars”
3. “bore it with mute and uncomprehending patience of a
dog”
4. “strength and endurance”
5. “rarest,the most precious and the loveliest that anyone
can have”
6. “it shone in him with a radiance”
7. “Goodness,just goodness”