Agostino : You Don't Think This About Your Mother

 Theme: Love?!

I feel like in this course, I have read about the most unusual characters and that says a lot because I read A LOT of books. Agostino by Alberto Moravia was such an interesting read which says a lot because I have never read a book that explored Freud’s theory of the Oedipus complex. Freud asserts that “while he is still a small child, a son will already begin to develop a special affection for his mother, whom he regards as belonging to him; he begins to feel his father as a rival who disputes his sole possession” (Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis).  I remember in my A-levels Psychology class, learning about the Oedipus complex and thinking how could this theory be even real. That’s where it surprised me that this book untangles Agostino’s sexuality and attraction for his mother (which I never knew was possible to occur).  In the beginning of the novel where Agostino went out to the sea with his mother, he was proud because it seemed as if “all the bathers on the beach seemed to be watching, admiring his mother and envying him.” This line indicates how he is possessive over his mother. This sense of pride indicates that he feels that he is worthy of her love and being around her presence. When his mother meets another man, Renzo, he feels threatened that he has been replaced. This could be paralleled with the novel, Combray where his mother played an integral part in his memories. 


 However, his love and attraction for his mother could be seen as a coping mechanism due to his father not being part of his life. He longs for an untethered relationship with his parental figure that will never end and that he doesn’t have to feel threatened about. 


Agostino meets a gang of boys, where he is bullied and doesn’t feel like he can fit in with them. Upon his realization of his impure thoughts about his mother, he feels that he is sexually confused. This causes him to mess around with women from the brothel. This could be because he realizes that he needs to go on this journey of self-discovery to understand who he was and who his mother actually was to him. The theme of self-discovery could be paralleled to Nadja where he tried to find himself and get out of this funk through his relationship with Nadja.


Question : What do you think of the novel’s final line: “But he wasn’t a man, and many unhappy days would pass before he became one?”



Comments

  1. Meta - Sol February 1, 2026 at 11:49 PM

    I agree, the psychological approach is suitable to this reading. It will be interesting to discuss it on class and see if everybody agrees.
    I liked how you related it with the other readings of the course!
    See you tomorrow.
    Julián.

    ReplyDelete
  2. RomeoFebruary 1, 2026 at 11:54 PM

    The way I interpret that final line was that even though he had experienced all those new things with the Vespucci boys, he still did not have a deeper understanding of what the various things truly meant and had not reached the maturity level to process them adequately. I think its unhappy because he is in this state om limbo torn between two identities and it is messing with him.

    ReplyDelete
  3. LivFebruary 2, 2026 at 12:02 AM

    In my opinion the final line means he still had these complex feelings towards his mother for many years, until he grew older and resolved them, either by meeting other woman maybe a partner or becoming old enough to enter the brothel. Because from the way he told his mother to treat him as a man at the end his definition of being a man is he wanted her to not think of him as innocent and pure, and by engaging in 'impure' acts he becomes a man in his own narrative.

    ReplyDelete
  4. JonFebruary 2, 2026 at 12:24 AM

    "This causes him to mess around with women from the brothel."

    Except he doesn't, does he? He is refused entry.

    "This could be because he realizes that he needs to go on this journey of self-discovery to understand who he was and who his mother actually was to him."

    But what does he himself say (on the very last page) about what he's trying to achieve by going to the brothel? (A little more attention to the text would help your insights be both more accurate and more persuasive.)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jon Beasley-MurrayFebruary 2, 2026 at 1:04 AM

    And don’t forget to use categories (this week: Moravia) and tags (to indicate key concepts and ideas in your post: Freud? sexuality? parents?).

    ReplyDelete

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