Carlini

Carlini is a young bandit in the service of the celebrated chief Cucumetto, active in the Lepini mountains near Rome in the early nineteenth century. His story, narrated by Signor Pastrini to Franz d'Epinay and Albert de Morcerf, forms one of the most dramatic episodes in the bandit lore of the Roman Campagna and illustrates the brutal codes of honor, jealousy, and vengeance that governed the outlaw communities of the region.

Identity and Background

Carlini was a member of Cucumetto's band, a group of brigands who had established themselves in the mountains after the celebrated chief Cucumetto, pursued from the Abruzzo and driven out of the Kingdom of Naples, crossed the Garigliano and took refuge on the banks of the Amasine between Sonnino and Juperno. Cucumetto sought to collect a following and to surpass the earlier bandits Decesaris and Gasperone. Many young men from Palestrina, Frascati, and Pampinara had disappeared, and it was soon known that they had joined Cucumetto. Carlini was among these recruits. He had served Cucumetto faithfully for three years and had saved the chief's life by shooting a dragoon who was about to cut him down, which made him a favorite with the leader.

The Abduction of Rita and Carlini's Dilemma

Carlini was in love with a young girl named Rita, the daughter of a surveyor of Frosinone. They had exchanged promises of mutual fidelity and met every night in some neighboring ruins. One night, Cucumetto sent Carlini to a village, so that he was unable to go to the place of meeting. Cucumetto, however, went there himself, by accident as he claimed, and carried the maiden off. When Carlini returned and learned what had happened, he found Rita in the arms of Cucumetto. A terrible confrontation between the two men seemed imminent, but Carlini's hand, which had grasped one of the pistols in his belt, fell to his side. Cucumetto then proposed to abandon Rita to the common law of the bandits, by which a captured girl was first possessed by the chief who took her, then the rest drew lots for her, and she was abandoned to their brutality until death relieved her sufferings. Carlini besought his chief to make an exception in Rita's favor, as her father was rich and could pay a large ransom. Cucumetto seemed to yield and bade Carlini find a shepherd to send to Rita's father at Frosinone, fixing the ransom at three hundred piastres and granting twelve hours' delay.

The Murder of Rita and Its Aftermath

Carlini wrote the letter and dispatched a young shepherd as messenger. He then returned to the glade where the bandits were supping, but found that Cucumetto had already violated Rita. When the bandits drew lots for her, the ticket bore the name of Diavolaccio, the man whom Carlini had earlier struck by breaking a glass across his face. Diavolaccio then brought Rita into the circle, and it was seen that a knife was plunged up to the hilt in her left breast. Carlini's sheath at his belt was empty. He had killed Rita himself to spare her the fate of being the sport of the whole band. Cucumetto declared, "She is thine." Carlini then carried her body out of the circle of firelight. Later that night, Rita's father arrived with the ransom. Cucumetto pointed him to Carlini, who told the old man, "Cucumetto had violated thy daughter; I loved her, therefore I slew her; for she would have served as the sport of the whole band." Carlini then offered the knife to the father, saying, "If I have done wrongly, avenge her." The old man replied, "Thou hast done well! Embrace me, my son." Carlini, sobbing like a child, threw himself into the arms of his mistress's father. Together they buried Rita beneath a huge oak, and the father then hanged himself from one of its branches. Carlini swore an oath of bitter vengeance over the dead body of the one and the tomb of the other.

Death and Narrative Significance

Carlini was unable to complete his oath of vengeance. Two days later, in an encounter with the Roman carbineers, he was killed. There was surprise, however, that although he was facing the enemy, he had received a ball between his shoulders. One of the brigands remarked to his comrades that Cucumetto was stationed ten paces in Carlini's rear when he fell. On the morning of the departure from the forest of Frosinone, Cucumetto had followed Carlini in the darkness and heard his oath of vengeance, and, like a wise man, anticipated it. Carlini's story, as told by Signor Pastrini, serves to illustrate the savage codes of honor and vengeance that governed the bandit communities of the Roman Campagna, and it also provides a key narrative function: it is through this tale that Franz d'Epinay first hears the name "Sinbad the Sailor," which later proves to be the alias of the Count of Monte Cristo, thus linking the bandit world to the central mystery of the novel.