La Strada Quotes

Quotes

"For... I don't know. If I knew I'd be the Almighty, who knows all. When you are born and when you die... Who knows? I don't know for what this pebble is useful but it must be useful. For if its useless, everything is useless. So are the stars!"

The Fool

The Fool tells this to Gelsomina in order to encourage her that she too has a purpose in life. He wants her to have her own voice and not just follow Zampano around for the rest of her days and believe that this is what she is made to do. There is far more to life than that and The Fool knows it, but it takes courage to embrace it and break free from the chains that hold one back.

"Thank you, thank you. Now, to do this feat, I must fill myself up like a tire. If a blood vessel should break, I would spit blood. For instance, in Milan a man weighing 240 pounds lost his eyesight doing this trick. That is because the optical nerves take a beating, and once you lose your eyes, you are finished. If there's any delicate person in the audience, I would advise him to look away 'cause there could be blood."

Zampano

Zampano says this to build up the audience before he performs his feat of strength. It alludes to how he himself has lost his eyes on the journey of life. He has placed his focus on his own personal gain and nothing more, thus he only see what he needs to get to the next stop. Never what is best for everyone, but what is best for him right now.

"Maybe he loves you?"

The Fool

The Fool says this to Gelsomina about Zampano loving her and she really considers whether his abuse and protection of her as his property is actually his way of showing affection for her. Gelsomina does desire to be loved by Zampano, but he abuses her the entire journey as he sleeps with other women blatantly in front of her and constantly leaves her behind even after he's taken advantage of her sexually.

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