The Leopard

Change dominates The Leopard. The slow, gradual decline of the Sicilian nobility contrasts with the rapid, accelerating change of the revolutionary forces as they fight for a unified Italy. Despite this constant change, however, Prince Fabrizio is convinced that nothing will truly change. The stratification of society will remain in place, even if those at the top change. As the patriarch of a family in decline, whose wealth is being overtaken by non-aristocrats like Don Calogero, Fabrizio charges himself with navigating this change so that his family’s way of life can remain the same as much as possible. His tacit endorsement of unification and his grudging approval of Tancredi’s marriage to Angelica suggest that Fabrizio is ready to sanction change even as he wishes to shut himself off from the actual world. He prefers to hunt, to dine, to study the unchanging stars, and to entertain his old family traditions. He negotiates with the new government, but only to acquire passes so that he can take his family on their regular holiday. He declines the offer of a position in the new government because he does not feel connected to the political project of a unified Italy. These gestures toward change are hollow and performative: Prince Fabrizio only entertains change on the surface, deliberately ignoring the more pressing changes that are sweeping society.