The Leopard

The Leopard is set during a time of great political change. The choice of clothing and uniforms reflect this change, as the decision to wear certain items has an inherently political symbolism. Tancredi takes advantage of this symbolism. He adorns himself in red to signify his participation in the revolution. There is an irony to his early clothing choices: The young aristocrat is wearing the regalia of revolution, performing his revolutionary ideals much more than he is living them. Soon, however, Tancredi shows that the military symbols are more than just a pantomime. He joins in the revolution, fighting alongside Garibaldi’s troops. He is injured and wears his eyepatch as a proud banner of his involvement, signaling his bravery and his sincerity to everyone around him. Gradually, however, the red handkerchiefs and rags that first signified his revolutionary ideals give way to an actual military uniform. He joins the army of post-unification Italy, and his clothing changes. He abandons the small tokens of revolution in favor of full military regalia. This change in attire signifies that the revolution has passed and a new status quo has emerged, with himself in the officer class. In this sense, Tancredi’s choice of clothing represents Fabrizio’s theory about everything remaining the same: The uniforms have changed, but they are still being worn by the same young aristocrats.

The flags and banners of the revolution become increasingly common as Garibaldi becomes more successful. These symbols of revolution proliferate across Sicily, even as cities such as Palermo and towns such as Donnafugata are still ruled by the old regime. Their proliferation represents the surge in support for unification, as well as the burgeoning confidence of the middle class. Figures such as Mayor Calogero adorn themselves in the Italian tricolor, a colorful symbol of the unification. Don Calogero and other members of the petit bourgeoisie stand to gain immensely from the unification, and as the unification seems increasingly inevitable, they feel little need to hide their confidence from the ruling class. Fabrizio notes the proliferation of the tricolor but rejects it as a symbol of social change. Rather, noting the identity of those who decorate themselves in such symbols, he chooses to see the proliferation of the tricolor as evidence of his theory that the social order will be preserved with different people at the top. Rather than symbolizing social change, the tricolor is another symbol of Fabrizio’s belief that everything will mostly remain the same.

Uniforms exist in many forms in The Leopard. Fabrizio takes great pleasure in his ability to dress himself correctly for any formal or informal occasion. To the Prince, this is a form of uniform that symbolizes his innate nobility. He has been bred, over many generations, to effortlessly project an image of grace and refinement, which he believes to be a key aspect of the nobility. In the novel, however, this sartorial expression of nobility is declining along with the nobility itself. The contrast between Fabrizio’s effortless style and Don Calogero’s futile, expensive efforts to dress in the same way symbolize what Fabrizio believes to be a fundamental difference between himself and Don Calogero. Each time he sees Don Calogero, his eyes are drawn to some fashion outrage. He is dressed in the wrong color, the wrong shoes, or he simply does not fit the clothes he inhabits. Fabrizio believes that Don Calogero’s inability to dress gracefully symbolizes his unsuitability for high society. Like his clothes, he is an ill fit. Yet Don Calogero remains a part of high society, despite his ill-fitting and poorly chosen clothes. He goes to more expensive tailors and gradually begins to resemble, at least from a distance, something like Sicilian nobility. This improvement symbolizes the paucity of Fabrizio’s theory. Money, rather than breeding or innate dignity, is the key to nobility. Refinement is a means of asserting and protecting class privilege—an ever more elaborate code of behavior whose purpose is to separate those who belong from those who do not—but the source of privilege is money. Fabrizio realizes that, given a few generations of wealth, Don Calogero’s descendants will come to seem as refined as Fabrizio himself does now.