"The Next Goddess of Love" by Alberto Moravia:
The well-known novelist attempted an analysis of C.C as a woman based on a detailed, almost clinical study of her body.
"The next Goddess of Love" as Moravia calls her, is seen as an object, destined in the quality of her physical presence to become a myth in the eyes of the viewer.
A.M: Let's proceed, describe your hair. C.C: I have long hair. A.M: How long? C.C: When it is down it reaches 5 centimeters above my waist. A.M: So you would say that your hair covers your back, almost to your waist. What color is it? C.C: Chestnut brown. A.M: It is not enough to say that it is brown. I would say that you have brown hair with quite bright red highlights. In addition, your hair is slightly wavy so that it does not fall limp and lifeless on your chest and shoulders, but rather has an appearance of vitality and movement as its waves follow the curves of your body.
A.M: What are your ears like? C.C: Since I was a child I had inferiority because my ears stick out a little from my head, they flutter in the breeze as the saying goes. A.M: They are nice, without a lobe that is too big, maybe your ears are a little big but it is not bad because they are a sign of longevity. Your eyes are black, right?
C.C: No, they are dark brown but shiny and luminous. My eyes are not that big and they are deep. A.M: I could add that the white ones are almost blue, like children's. And now, if you would be so kind as to laugh at me. C.C: How do you expect me to laugh? Special order?
A.M: You are laughing right now. I see that when you laugh, your eyes turn into two black slits. Now your nose. C.C: It is straight, slightly upturned, a little wide at the bridge and very narrow at the nostrils. It has a small groove at the tip. My eyebrows start at my nose and curve into two very regular arcs. A.M: Your nose is small but distinctive. I would say that it has a classic appearance but timed by modern sensuality, like Michelangelo's female figures. What about your mouth?
C.C: The upper lip is thinner than the lower lip, which is fleshy and protrudes a little with the corners down. A.M: How would you characterize your expression? C.C: A little stubborn, don't you think? A.M: Not only stubborn, moody, contemptuous and above all somewhat country, rustic. But your mouth completely changes its expression when you laugh. He loses his stubborn, peasant appearance and becomes… What does become?
C.C: I only know what happens to my face when I laugh, two dimples appear on my cheeks. The edge of my lip curves up so that it almost touches the tip of my nose and my nose wrinkles at the corners of my eyes. Who knows why? A.M: Because your laugh is strong, open, irresistible, like that of a girl bursting with happiness and giving free rein to her shyness. And how would you say what your teeth are like?
C.C: White, very regular but childish. A.M: I can see almost all of them when you laugh. I can also see a little bit of your gums, which are red and make an attractive contrast to the whiteness of your teeth. Your smile, or rather your laugh, takes us to the shape of your face, what is it like?
C.C: My chin is round, my jaw is small and curves towards my chin at an obtuse angle. I could say that my face shape is triangular. A.M: This shape gives it the appearance of an archaic, primordial childish face, raised towards the light. I see your long, round and robust neck, you realize that, right? C.C: Yes, my neck is long and people tell me that I always keep it stiff and straight, how should I put it? With a somewhat proud, disdainful look.
A.M: Now let's see your hands, let me see them. Your hands are understandable only if one realizes that your arms are long and thin and your wrists are very delicate. But how would you describe your hands?
C.C: I'm afraid they are not very feminine. A.M: They are a little square, the fingers are somewhat spatulated, the palm is not very fleshy, the midlines are deep and red. You have the hands of a child or a woman that are probably thin and dry but you are not thin and dry. It's quite the opposite and this brings us to your body. What are your shoulders like? C.C: They are full, round, completely feminine and graceful; nothing sharp or angular.
A.M: And your chest? C.C: I have a high chest. A.M: I would add that it is full and shapely since your bust measurement is 37 inches. What about your hips? C.C: I wish they were wide. A.M: Why? Wide hips are one of the characteristics of your body.Can you tell me about your legs?
C.C: They are straight and strong, not so thin and they have 3 dimples. A.M: What do you mean? C.C: They say that for the legs to be truly beautiful they must be delimited by three small grooves, even if they are very straight and very soft: One between the foot and the calf, another between the calf and the knee and another between the knee and the thigh. I have all three. A.M: Finally, how would you describe your beauty? C.C: I don't know if I'm really beautiful. I believe I'm strange-looking".
~This post has been a bit long but I have summarized the original interview from the book (I do not put more spoilers) Originally I took this summary from an Italian magazine from 1966. Personally I like this physical study that in the eyes of Moravia is different than in the eyes of Claudia Cardinale herself who is the owner of her attributes. Sometimes the defects that one sees in oneself are the beautiful characteristic in other eyes. I hope you liked the post 💖.~
