The Betrothed: I Promessi Sposi

By May 1630, the “widespread misery” (525) has deepened in Milan. The authorities seek help from the local governor, who delegates all responsibilities to Ferrer, as he is busy with the war. Ferrer organizes for “the body of San Carlo” (526) to be paraded through the streets, and those who have survived the plague (and thus have some immunity) are used to collect the corpses littering the streets. These people, named the monatti, tie bells to their legs to announce their arrival to the sick, and they quickly become corrupt. Another group, the apparitori, are involved in the funerals. The commissaries are appointed to govern both groups, though they are all quickly corrupted. Conspiracies begin, in which so-called anointers are spreading poison. Paranoid people accuse each other of being anointers, blaming one another for the spread of the plague. Trials are held, and many innocent people are “sentenced to the most atrocious tortures” (543) after being accused of spreading the plague. Order begins to break down as many people die.

Count Attilio dies of the plague. A short time later, Don Rodrigo falls ill. Though he insists that he does not have the plague, Griso is wary of him.