COSI – LOVE, Fidelity & Betrayal
SYNONYMS:
compassion
understanding
friendship
trust
empathy
truthful
compassion
constancy
integrity
loyalty
infatuation
commitment
devotion
treachery
defect
deceive
unfaithful
attraction
acceptance
attachment
infidelity
passion
affection
fondness
trustworthy
falseness
dishonesty
dedication
faith
deception
tenderness
duplicity
conformity
dependability
Characters
Quotes
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Nick + Lucy - These two are the embodiment of
1970 views on mental asylums and the
revolutionary left wing extremist politics. They
represent what would be considered as a tolerable
and accepted perspective of love (free love
movement) and disregard the notion of fidelity as
insignificant to their society. Through their
perspective of love comes their ‘betrayal’ of Lewis
as they at the end of the play have opposing views
on the theme of love and fidelity. Lucy exercises
Free Love and strongly adheres to its principles.
Has an affair with Nick, her infidelity is mirrored in
the opera ‘Cosi Fan Tutte’. Represents the social
revolutions at the time. Nick espouses Lucy’s view
that fighting for political values is more important
than love and fidelity. Betrays Lewis’ by sleeping
with Lucy and justifies it by accusing Lewis of being
“conservative”
Lewis - His perspective of love and fidelity evolve
throughout the play from influences of the opera,
and discussions with other characters. He initially
claims to disregard the notions of love and fidelity
as irrelevant to society, but eventually believes in
its importance to the world. He initially believes as
Nick and Lucy do, that love is “not so important
nowadays”. His views of love shift from the
previous perspective he unconvincingly presented
at the beginning. He redefines fidelity for his own
true interpretation of what it means to love. His
initial views on love matured throughout the
progression of the novel. From the start of the play
he was faithful to his girlfriend Lucy, wanting to
talk about developing a future yet she constantly
changes topic.
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“Lucy’s not into marriage-……… She’s into politics.
She hates talk about love. She thinks it’s icky. ‘Love
is the last gasp of bourgeois romanticism’ she says.
She hates me doing an opera about live and fidelity
while thousands of Vietnamese are being killed by
American troops” p.33
“Do you think the starving masses give a fuck
about love? Love is an emotional indulgence for
the privileged few.” p.70
“Lewis, we’re mates, aren’t we…?..... No, she’s
sleeping with you, we’re having sex….. It’s only
sex” p.76
“Without love the world wouldn’t mean much”
p.70
“[My boyfriend] said it was the glue that held our
relationship together. He left me when I slashed
his car tyres. He said it was the straw that broke
the camel’s back. I cried for days. He just wanted
me for sex.” p.66
Love and fidelity is hardly as important as “bread,
shelter, equality, health, procreation and money”
“Love is not so important nowadays”
‘I don’t like men’s double standards, I guess. Men
want women to deceive them because it’ll prove
their worst thoughts about women’
‘Only mad people in this day and age would do a
work about love and infidelity. They’re definitely
mad.’
‘...free love is a hard concept to define’
“Give her a poke and get it over and done with…”
p.36.
“That’s what love is, being foolish.” p.61.
Characters
Quotes
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Henry speaks about his mother as being
completely faithful and devoted to his father.
Henry is also betrayed by his wife during the time
he loses the trial, she leaves him and he is deeply
affected by the loss of support.
Julie possesses a realistic perception of the sexist
discrimination between men and woman when it
comes to love and fidelity. Much like Lucy, she sees
the double standards that exist between men and
women and its reflection within the morals
expressed by the opera. She values fidelity as a
need in her life because she needs somebody to
support her. Although falling for Lewis, she
remains dedicated to her true love being her
girlfriend, as she has stuck by her though the thin.
Ruth’s experiences which lead to her mental
deterioration and admission into the asylum gives
insight into the difference between love and lust
and the misguided views of love and sex in 1970s
society.
Roy is baffled by the concept of love as he has
never been loved and always been abandoned. He
uses the performance Cosi Fan Tutte to feel
comforted, to feel wanted for once in his life and
also to feel the emotion of love and to be loved.
He believes hate is a “more pure emotion” than
love. This may be due to the fact that he never
experienced love of any kind due to being an
orphan
Cherry is in love with Lewis and could stay faithful
to him but these feelings are only one sided. Lewis
does not share these feelings and her love is only
driven by physical attraction. She can get violent or
aggressive if she feels her emotional pursuit of
Lewis is threatened, mostly by Julie.
Doug believes in free love, but has restricted
opportunities to practice it in the asylum.
Dorabella, Fiordiligi, Ferrando, Guglielmo – the
‘play within a play’, whose relationships are bound
by love, fidelity and betrayal. The initial quest by
Ferrando & Guglielmo to trap the women by
proving their infidelity; by showing ‘women are like
that’ or ‘they all do that’.
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“Love is what you feel when you don’t have
enough emotion left to hate.” p. 61
“Love is hallucinating without drugs.”p.61
‘I believe in free love but it’s hard to practise it in
here’ p.18
‘Women like to pretend they don’t play around but
they’re just more secretive about it’ p.18
‘This Cosi condones the corruption of innocence.
Women are told to be tramps. Free love. Women
are not to be trusted’ p.48
‘Don Alfonso is proved right. Women are never
true.’ p. 9
‘Lucy’s not into marriage…We sometimes talk
about commitment…But it never gets far’ p. 33
“It’s about important things – like love and
fidelity.” p.70
“Woman’s constancy is like the Arabian Phoenix”
p.34
“Whether women can remain true is a ttttragedy”
p.49
“Women shouldn’t come between mates…It’s only
sex.” p.77
“Some people can’t imagine life without love, well
I can’t imagine life without junk.” p.37
“You’ve always mistaken lust for love” p.70
“You share her?” p.18
Nowra’s challenge, contention, intention
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That love and fidelity are important in society and that it is required to keep people together.
That love is not a priority in people’s lives; “an emotional indulgence for the privileged few”
That 18th century notions of fidelity still exist in modern times and are ultimately part of human nature.
That double standards of love and fidelity exist between men and women.
That lust and love are two different indulgences and do not necessarily intertwine.
That the opera and the play both demonstrate that men, like women are also unfaithful. That there are double
standards in play in how men and women are treated.
That love is a swerving and uncontrollable emotion. Also the men and women double standards which exist.
That love is not a desirable artistic or philosophical state, that it is not so much “divine madness” as it is simply
madness, balancing the play’s overwhelming support for a non-judgmental view of madness.
That the question of where loyalties are owed and under what circumstances they are obligated to be met.
In a socially progressive and tumultuous time of the 1970’s, the devastation and implication of the Vietnam war
were rife in society and the notion of love and fidelity is hardly as important as “bread, shelter, equality, health
procreation and money”
That love is important no matter what society’s values suggest, it is the need for support that people need love.
That by the use of the opera these characters can explore their views and values on love and fidelity; this allows
Lewis to be able to express himself freely without following Nick and Lucy.
That society encompasses double standards.
That those who have love have a responsibility to appreciate it.
That those who haven’t experienced love are in search for someone to love them.
That love is always significant.
That love/fidelity aren’t ideals/feelings/things that can go out of custom
That every Tom, Dick, and Harry needs and has a right to be loved.
That life without love can be lonely, tough and unsatisfying.
That our attitudes to love and relationships are deeply shaped by our family & relationships.
That love and betrayal may be done by both sexes.
That fidelity a test of true human emotion and loyalty.
That love is always important.
That everyone has a need to be loved and attached to another.
That life without love is lonely, depressing, meaningless and a life not to live at all.
That love and betrayal can be no different to hatred.
That fidelity suppresses free love.
That love is essential.
That everyone deserves to be loved by those closest to them.
That life without love can be lonely, depressing and difficult to endure.
That our attitudes to love and relationships are a reflection of those around us.
That love is a quality to be cherished.
That there is a qualitative difference between lust and love.
That men and women are both unfaithful in relationships, not just women like Cosi, ‘Cosi Fan Tutte’ and society
suggest.
Through Roy, Nowra shows that living without being loved is tragic.
That through Lewis, Nowra is challenging men that expect women to be faithful , ‘even if they’re not true and
faithful themselves’.
He is questioning societies Morals and values.
That Fidelity is merely an idea.
That the mental patients are more honest than the rest of society.
That the concept of fidelity has been lost due to the desperation of the youth to break free from the oppression of
the 1950’s.