La Traviata

The nineteenth century saw the rise of many popular forms of entertainment, from music halls, vaudeville, burlesque and opera to the rise of the demimonde institution. The demimonde was a class of women who provided favors for wealthy gentleman, in arrangements that often resemble contracts, in exchange for money. Violetta Valery, the heroine of La Traviata, was a member of the demimonde. While not considered prostitutes, this class of women was considered less reputable and held in lower social esteem than truly respectable and virtuous women. La Traviata means “the frail one”, generally considered to refer to Violetta’s illness (Buckley 1).

Violetta’s illness is consumption, an older term used in reference to the disease of tube

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t One of La Traviata opens to what appears to be the grand pursuit of enjoyment. Violetta is throwing a grand party, but though she seems happy and carefree she is privately afraid her illness is overcoming her. Violetta meets Alfredo, but she takes ill and rushes to another room consumed by the coughing and frailty characteristic of consumption. Violetta is smitten by Alfredo’s charms and gives him a camellia, her favorite flower. This is symbolic because she tells him to come back when the flower dies, much like she, his flower, will die when he does come back at the end of the story. When Alfredo leaves the part Violetta sings Sempre libera degg’io, a song that shows the futility of trying to share love between classes, “When alone, [Violetta] wonders anxiously about the ardent and truthful love confession of Alfredo. But her condition doesn’t allow a real love: she lives as a courtesan, and this low morals life is the sole remedy to her illness” (Characters 1). In Act Two, we see Violetta and Alfredo as happy as they will ever be. Unbeknownst to Alfredo, Violetta unselfishly sells her possessions in order to provide the funds for their idyllic existence. Alfredo becomes aware of this and leaves for Paris in a search f
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Some common words found in the essay are:
La Traviata, TB Tuberculosis, Act Violetta, Giorgio Germont, CONCLUSION Verdis, Alfredo Violetta, Violetta Violettas, Douphol Alfredo, la traviata, Vnoucek Audience, Citizen Available, nineteenth century, violettas illness, alfredo violetta, buckley 1, elements society, conventional morality, grand pursuit, pursuit enjoyment, grand pursuit enjoyment, traviata means frail, style grand, father giorgio germont, la traviata means, triumph conventional morality,
Approximate Word count = 1492
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)