“The White Lotus” season two strikes the vacation-themed collection to Sicily, and there is one iconic a part of the island that the present makes observe of: the intricate statues of heads.
During the first episode, Cameron (Theo James), Ethan (Will Sharpe), Daphne (Meghann Fahy), and Harper (Aubrey Plaza) ask about the statue of their room. Their hotel-worker information explains to them that it is referred to as a Testa di Moro. He explains, “The story is a Moor came here a long time ago and seduced a local girl. But then she found out that he had a wife and children back home. So because he lied to her, she cut his head off.”
The group wonders why folks would need to show the statues if they’ve such a darkish backstory. Daphne tells Cameron, “It’s a warning to husbands, babe. Screw around and you’ll end up in the garden.”
Rocco would not inform them the remainder of the legend, or the different interpretations of the Testa di Moro’s origins. According to Visit Sicily, after the woman eliminated the man’s head, she used it as a vase to develop basil. The scent attracted her neighbors, who beloved the vase and had copies of it commissioned.
But Visit Sicily additionally provides one other backstory for the statues. In a special model of the legend, the woman and the Moor fell in love. When her mother and father discovered, they beheaded each of them and hung their heads as a warning. That’s why the heads are normally proven in pairs, although “White Lotus” principally exhibits the man’s head alone, referencing the different model of the story.
What Is the Meaning of the Head Statues in “White Lotus”?
Based on Rocco’s rationalization, it appears the heads are a reminder of the secrets and techniques that may be stored between {couples} and the means they flip into poison — and even violence. It thematically resonates with the present’s second season, which appears to all be about dramas between {couples}. Daphne and Cameron seem to be the picture-perfect wealthy couple, however Harper would not belief them. And at the finish of the night time, whereas Cameron and Daphne have intercourse of their lodge room, Harper and Ethan are disconnected in mattress.
Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge)’s marriage to Greg (Jon Gries) is not going nice both. He’s livid she introduced her assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) along with her and reprimands her about her weight and consuming. And Dominic (Michael Imperioli) will get berated by his spouse on the cellphone. She calls him a liar, accuses him of protecting secrets and techniques, and finally ends up crying. His actions have stored his spouse and daughter from becoming a member of the males of the household on trip, and his apology for his inaction appears significantly disingenuous since he hires Lucia (Simona Tabasco) to sleep with him earlier than he even arrives in Sicily.
But different resonances are tied to the statue in the collection, too. The lodge employee says the statue is of a “Moor,” a phrase that Europeans utilized in the Middle Ages to imply Muslim folks, and particularly these from North Africa or the Middle East. In Shakespeare’s “Othello,” the title character is described as a Moor, and that is why he would not slot in with the remainder of Venetian society. The characters of “White Lotus” season two are nearly all white. Harper notes to Ethan at the finish of the episode that the two of them are the “white-passing, diverse friends.” The Testa di Moro, then, is a literal objectification of a nonwhite individual, an individual who in any other case would not be welcome on this ultra-elite area. And he turned an object by means of violence; solely by means of homicide can he be an accepted a part of Sicilian life.
We already know that no less than one visitor will not make it by means of their trip alive. Could it’s due to the secrets and techniques and lies that come between a husband and spouse? We’ll have to attend and see.
Discussion about this post