cancer, her future seems to be stripped of all hope. Her lipstick and artificial smile cover her despair.

Old Giulio Lovisi

Old Giulio Lovisi (jee-EW-lee-oh loh-VEE-see), the owner of a cosmetics store and a villa in Ostia. He is married to Giuseppa, and their daughter, Giovanna, is married to the writer Carlo Stevo, a socialist whom Giulio would like to “own.” Carlo disappears while in jail for crimes against the state. Giulio often lights votive candles and says his prayers in an incoherent and automatic way. He remains enslaved to money worries and family problems, and he realizes the irreversible decline of his feelings for his wife, whose corpulence, sour disposition, and many shortcomings can only worsen. When a wish is granted to Giulio, his agony of hoping is perpetuated.

Carlo Stevo

Carlo Stevo (STEH-voh), the husband of Giovanna. He is a writer and inspires Marcella’s assassination attempt. Carlo dies in jail.

Giovanna Lovisi-Stevo

Giovanna Lovisi-Stevo, Carlo’s wife and Giulio’s daughter. She takes care of their crippled child in the hope of seeing her husband again. The angelic and golden world of the church is the antithesis of Giovanna’s life. Giovanna is embittered, solitary, and prone to temptations while waiting in vain for the return of her husband.

Miss Jones

Miss Jones, Giulio’s salesgirl. When fired from her job because of Giuseppa’s jealousy, she says her prayers in the hope of returning to England and regrets her madness in having come to Italy, where none of her dreams has come true. Small miseries make up the lives of Giulio and Miss Jones. Their prayers sustain their hopes, which are the only things that give meaning to their lives.

Old Mother Dida of Ponte Porzio

Old Mother Dida of Ponte Porzio, the wife of Fruttuoso. She has faced a ruthless fate in her husband, a good-for-nothing man who had given her many children and poverty, and she is now filling her life with routine and habit. Selling flowers near the film theater and the Conti Palace, she has outlived her husband, a king, and three popes. Indifferent to politics and religion, she loves Father Cicca and his organist without any religious faith. Despite her stinginess, she offers the ten-lira coin received from Dr. Sarte to the exhausted Clément Roux.

Clément Roux

Clément Roux (klay-MAHN rew), a French artist about seventy years old. He has no interest in the modern architectural and political world of Rome. He meets with Massimo Iacofleff, but their ensuing conversation is completely at cross purposes, as neither listens to the other.

Massimo Iacofleff

Massimo Iacofleff (mahs-SEE-moh ee-AH-koh-flehf), a double agent. He is introduced as a lover of Lina Chiari. He tells Clément about his complicity with Marcella, when they traded in false passports in Vienna, and how he is now worried that Marcella might have despised him when she died alone during her failed assassination attempt. He is one of the two main witnesses to the assassination attempt. He expresses admiration for Marcella’s heroism and Carlo’s commitment.

There is no one central character in A Coin in Nine Hands; instead, several characters have a tenuous relationship with one another and share a com-mon need for illusion or obliteration. No one strives for meaningful action or consciousness; they simply act out predetermined roles or wear appropriate masks. Yourcenar’s other novels are very different, especially Memoires d’Hadrien (1951; Memoirs of Hadrian, 1954). One critic makes the differences clear: “In that early work, Yourcenar made modern characters of mythical ones. Here [A Coin in Nine Hands], she has reversed the process. Marcella, the assassin, is seen not as a modern woman, but as a doomed spirit of revenge.” Yourcenar has also described her characterization as mythic; she suggests that “Massimo is of course Thanatos, the angel of death [and] Marinuzzi is Dionysus.”

Two other characters deserve mention. Dr. Sarte is, in contrast to most of the others, objective and aloof. He is not the victim of illusion but sees the world as it is. He is, moreover, an opportunist who is using Fascism rather than being used by it. Nevertheless, he wants and needs to reestablish his relationship with Marcella, since without it, his life is empty. Another disinterested character is Massimo. He is the product of the modern world, not of Marcella’s mythic one. He has been initiated by “hunger, war, escape, being arrested at the border.” His only value is survival in a meaningless world.

Within the rich tapestry of fascist Italy brought to life in A Coin in Nine Hands, Yourcenar paints a vivid ensemble of characters that span the societal spectrum. Unlike the singular, dominant figures typically found at the heart of her historical narratives, this novel thrives on a mosaic of lives. Through these men and women, Yourcenar crafts a shared testament to the social and political climate of the era. As each character touches the coin, they exchange it in a quest for redemption, hoping to ease their burdens or shatter the quietude of despair. From the weary hands of a prostitute, to the shrewd grasp of a shopkeeper, and onward to a humble candle vendor, the coin travels a cyclic path, unveiling the poignant universality of human existence.

Described by Yourcenar as "tragicomic," the figures in A Coin in Nine Hands are sketched with a light touch, their backgrounds only briefly illuminated. Intriguingly, it is the female characters who emerge as the most complex and nuanced, a departure from Yourcenar's earlier works such as Memoirs of Hadrian and The Abyss, where male protagonists dominate with fervor. In this narrative, Yourcenar deftly uses characterization to serve her artistic vision, weaving the lives of secondary characters into the novel's very fabric. This strategy not only captivates readers but also deepens the thematic layers of her story.

Among these lives intricately interlaced with the plot is Carlo Stevo, the dissident writer. Stevo, like the coin that binds these disparate worlds, casts a long shadow without ever stepping onto the page. His death at the hands of political oppressors echoes through the narrative, underscoring the novel's core theme of futility and adding to its profound resonance.