Ettore

Ettore is Rika’s husband and Pinta’s father, and the formal employer of Creasy during the period when the girl grows close to her bodyguard. His part in the story is defined less by action than by a domestic failure he comes to recognize: he has been too distant from Pinta to meet a need that Creasy, almost inadvertently, has begun to answer. The consequences reach beyond the trial employment. What Ettore treats as a practical arrangement becomes a source of hurt, embarrassment, and conflict within his family.

Household and the trial appointment

Ettore hires Creasy for a three-month trial. As that period nears its end, he explains to Rika that its temporary nature had been understood from the start: the trial will end in a week, and he can simply decline to confirm the position. The terms give him a clear, ordinary way to bring the appointment to a close. But the family’s reasons for wanting Creasy gone are not merely administrative. Rika has noticed how strongly Pinta has attached herself to him, and she insists that he leave quickly.

The arrangement also has an uncertain origin. Later, Creasy tells Nadia that Guido and Elio arranged for him to get the job. When the circumstances come out in Como, Rika learns that Creasy was hired for very little money, merely to appease her. Ettore is therefore both the person who formally employs Creasy and the person whose role in securing that employment is entangled with other people’s decisions and motives. The low pay, initially concealed from Rika, turns the appointment into evidence of a deeper defect in how the household has handled the situation.

Pinta and Creasy

Rika’s recognition of Pinta’s attachment forces Ettore to consider what kind of relationship his daughter has with him. She tells him that Pinta looks up to Creasy and respects him, spends much of her time with him, and hurries from dinner to join him in the kitchen. Rika contrasts that easy closeness with Ettore’s own reserve: he has always been distant and has never really talked to Pinta. Her alarm is sharpened by the thought that the girl’s feelings might still be redirected toward her father, but that waiting could make it too late.

Ettore initially questions Rika’s interpretation. He acknowledges that Pinta is fond of Creasy, but wonders whether Rika is exaggerating what that affection means; perhaps, he suggests, Creasy is simply with her a great deal because the parents have been away too much. Then he asks whether the girl’s attachment might be “as a father?” The question registers both uncertainty and discomfort: he can see the possibility, but has not yet accepted its significance. He eventually admits that Rika is right. The recognition leaves him feeling exposed by a comparison he had not wanted to make—Creasy has given Pinta a kind of attention that Ettore has failed to provide.

The decision to end Creasy’s employment

Rika wants Ettore to tell Creasy immediately, rather than wait for the final week of the trial. She urges him to pay for the full period and add a good bonus, since Creasy is not at fault. Her insistence shows that she distinguishes between removing him from the household and treating him fairly. She even proposes taking Pinta to Rome for several days as a way to make an early departure seem reasonable.

Ettore resists that plan. He argues that another disruption to Pinta’s schooling would be bad for her, and he and Rika argue heatedly. He also reminds her that her original paranoia created the problem, a reproach that places their present conflict within the chain of decisions that brought Creasy into the home. For once, Rika gives way: Ettore will tell Creasy at the end of the week. His decision is not simply a rejection of Rika’s concern or a defence of Creasy’s place. It sets a limit on how the family will manage the separation, prioritizing the effect of another sudden change on Pinta while retaining the agreed trial period. He calls it a hard break; Rika answers that Pinta is young and will get over it. Their exchange reveals how differently they estimate the emotional cost to their daughter.

Exposure and narrative significance

The later visit to Como makes the concealed terms of the appointment impossible to ignore. Guido arrives with Elio; Vico Mansutti and his wife are already at the house, and Vico appears to be taking charge. Ettore is subdued and dazed by events. When Rika enters, she is furious: she has learned that Creasy was paid a pittance merely to appease her. She turns on Guido and scornfully accuses her husband of having put a drunk in charge of protecting their daughter, adding that even a boy scout could have done better. Elio starts to object, but Guido silences him, and the two men collect Creasy’s things and leave.

The scene gives Ettore little to say. His subdued presence contrasts with Rika’s anger, which makes the disclosure—not a defence from Ettore—the centre of the confrontation. The revelation recasts the trial appointment: its short duration was not the only weakness in the arrangement; the low payment and its purpose made it a hollow response to Rika’s concerns. The story does not present Ettore as a simple antagonist in these scenes. He recognizes his failure to be close to Pinta, considers the consequences of disrupting her schooling, and insists on honouring the agreed period. Yet recognition does not undo the distance, and a practical decision cannot repair the trust damaged by the way Creasy’s employment was arranged. Ettore’s role thus marks the gap between providing for a child’s safety and being emotionally present to her.