Content Warning: This Symbols & Motifs section discusses rape in Roman mythology.

The Rape of the Sabine Women, an iconic statue in Florence’s much-visited Palazzo Vecchio, executed by the French-born sculptor Giambologna (1529-1608, born Jean de Bologne), symbolizes the devastating impact of passion without love. Hadley’s and Lina’s opposite perspectives on the piece when they visit the controversial statue 20 years apart reflect the novel’s emphasis on the value of love over passion alone.

The statue depicts three figures—a muscular man holding aloft a nearly naked woman, her face frozen in terror, while at his feet an older man crouches helpless—a scene from the legend of Rome’s founding. As described by Matteo to Hadley, the Roman soldiers, intent on establishing the new city, needed women to populate the new settlement, so “they invited . the Sabines . to a party, then, part way through the night overpowered the men and dragged all the women kicking and screaming back to their city” (168). The statue represents this terrifying moment of capture and reflects the pain of masculine domination and subjugation of women.

Hadley and Lina’s contrasting perspectives on the statue, 17 years apart, add to the novel’s discussion of The Difference Between Passion and Love and the ways in which passion, without love, can skew one’s perception of reality.