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Test Bank for Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Others 9th Edition Steven A. Beebe, Susan J. Beebe, Mark V. Redmond download pdf full chapter
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Test Bank for Interpersonal
Communication: Relating to Others 9th
Edition Steven A. Beebe, Susan J. Beebe,
Mark V. Redmond
Full download chapter at: https://testbankbell.com/product/test-bank-for-
interpersonal-communication-relating-to-others-9th-edition-steven-a-beebe-susan-
j-beebe-mark-v-redmond-13-9/
1) What elements distinguish interpersonal communication from other forms of human communication?
A) It is a distinctive, transactional form of human communication involving mutual influence for the purpose of
managing relationships.
B) It involves treating people as objects, responding to roles rather than the person, and distinctive conversations.
C) It is a mechanical, transactional form of human communication, where each person has a role to perform.
D) It involves communicating with someone you care about, communicating in an I-It relationship, and treating
people as individuals.
Answer: A
Learning Objective: 1.1 Compare and contrast definitions of communication, human communication, and
interpersonal communication.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication Defined
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
2) A(n) __________ is a connection established when you communicate with another person.
A) transaction
B) relationship
C) interaction
D) lifelong bond
Answer: B
Learning Objective: 1.1 Compare and contrast definitions of communication, human communication, and
interpersonal communication.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication Defined
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
1
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Answer: C
Learning Objective: 1.1 Compare and contrast definitions of communication, human communication, and
interpersonal communication.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication Defined
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
4) Sarita goes to a restaurant with her friends after class. While dining, Sarita communicates with the server only to
place an order, ask for more water, and request the bill. Which type of communication is she using with the server?
A) intrapersonal
B) impersonal
C) interpersonal
D) public
Answer: B
Learning Objective: 1.1 Compare and contrast definitions of communication, human communication, and
interpersonal communication.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication Defined
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
5) Which term describes the process of making sense out of the world and sharing that sense with others by creating
meaning through the use of verbal and nonverbal messages?
A) human communication
B) interpersonal communication
C) communication
D) relationship communication
Answer: A
Learning Objective: 1.1 Compare and contrast definitions of communication, human communication, and
interpersonal communication.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication Defined
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
6) Rashid went to dinner with his good friend Megan. They stayed at the restaurant for hours simply because they
were enjoying each other’s conversation. According to Martin Buber, their relationship is best described as
__________.
A) I-It
B) It-Thou
C) I-Thou
D) It-I
Answer: C
Learning Objective: 1.1 Compare and contrast definitions of communication, human communication, and
interpersonal communication.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication Defined
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
7) Sammy and Jobeth are considering moving in together. Sammy is unsure, so she sits down to make a mental list
of the pros and cons of cohabitating with Jobeth. Sammy is demonstrating which form of communication?
A) interpersonal communication
B) impersonal communication
C) intrapersonal communication
D) intermediate communication
2
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Answer: C
Learning Objective: 1.1 Compare and contrast definitions of communication, human communication, and
interpersonal communication.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication Defined
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
8) What form of communication takes place when someone communicates the same message to many people at
once but the creator of the message is usually not physically present?
A) mass communication
B) public communication
C) small group communication
D) intrapersonal communication
Answer: A
Learning Objective: 1.1 Compare and contrast definitions of communication, human communication, and
interpersonal communication.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication Defined
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
9) Communication author Virginia Satir calls __________ "the largest single factor determining the kinds of
relationships [people make] with others."
A) romantic communication
B) physical health
C) family communication
D) emotional health
Answer: C
Learning Objective: 1.2 Explain why it is useful to study interpersonal communication.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication's Importance to Your Life
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
10) Which statement best describes the general correlation between social support and the prognosis of terminally ill
patients?
A) Patients who have strong social support die sooner.
B) Patients who have strong social support survive longer.
C) Patients are not impacted by their level of social support.
D) Social support is beneficial to patients if it comes from friends, not family members.
Answer: B
Learning Objective: 1.2 Explain why it is useful to study interpersonal communication.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication's Importance to Your Life
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Answer: C
Learning Objective: 1.2 Explain why it is useful to study interpersonal communication.
3
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication's Importance to Your Life
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
12) Currently, about __________ of all marriages end in divorce within twenty years of the wedding.
A) 10%
B) 25%
C) 50%
D) 75%
Answer: C
Learning Objective: 1.2 Explain why it is useful to study interpersonal communication.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication's Importance to Your Life
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
13) Alycia tells Zoe that a crowded restaurant is not the place to tell Fred that he failed to qualify for the interview.
She is referring to what aspect of communication?
A) feedback
B) channel
C) context
D) decoding
Answer: C
Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the communication process, including key components and models of
communication as action, interaction, and transaction.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and the Communication Process
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
14) During the communication process, whose role is it to decode the message?
A) sender
B) intermediary
C) messenger
D) receiver
Answer: D
Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the communication process, including key components and models of
communication as action, interaction, and transaction.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and the Communication Process
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
15) This view of communication suggests that all elements involved in the communication process are
interconnected, meaning that a change in one can impact the rest.
A) communication as action
B) communication as transaction
C) communication as interaction
D) communication as message exchange
Answer: B
Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the communication process, including key components and models of
communication as action, interaction, and transaction.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and the Communication Process
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
4
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
16) Communication as ___________ is the oldest and most simplistic of the models of human communication.
A) action
B) interaction
C) transaction
D) system
Answer: A
Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the communication process, including key components and models of
communication as action, interaction, and transaction.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and the Communication Process
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
17) What is considered to be the most sophisticated and most realistic model of interpersonal communication?
A) communication as action
B) communication as interaction
C) communication as transaction
D) communication as contraction
Answer: C
Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the communication process, including key components and models of
communication as action, interaction, and transaction.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and the Communication Process
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
18) The message transfer model of communication portrays human communication as a(n) ___________ process.
A) interactive
B) linear
C) circular
D) simultaneous
Answer: B
Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the communication process, including key components and models of
communication as action, interaction, and transaction.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and the Communication Process
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Answer: A
Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the communication process, including key components and models of
communication as action, interaction, and transaction.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and the Communication Process
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Answer: D
Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the communication process, including key components and models of
communication as action, interaction, and transaction.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and the Communication Process
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Answer: C
Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the communication process, including key components and models of
communication as action, interaction, and transaction.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and the Communication Process
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
22) Gary is going to break up with Hortensia and has decided to break the news at an expensive restaurant in hopes
of avoiding an unpleasant scene. Even though this might not work, Gary’s decision reflects his understanding of the
importance of which component of communication?
A) noise
B) feedback
C) context
D) decoding
Answer: C
Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the communication process, including key components and models of
communication as action, interaction, and transaction.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and the Communication Process
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
23) When Arman and Roger discuss what issues in their relationship are acceptable to discuss in front of friends and
which are acceptable only to discuss between themselves, they are engaging in __________.
A) impersonal communication
B) metacommunication
C) content communication
D) asynchronous communication
Answer: B
Learning Objective: 1.4 Discuss five principles of interpersonal communication.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication Principles
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply the Concepts
25) __________ is defined as a followable prescription that indicates behavior expectations in a relationship.
A) Dimension
B) Symbol
C) Guideline
D) Rule
Answer: D
Learning Objective: 1.4 Discuss five principles of interpersonal communication.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication Principles
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
26) When Gladys says, “I’m sorry, Pete. I take it back. Your new haircut isn’t really atrocious,” she seems to be
forgetting that communication __________.
A) is irreversible
B) connects us to others
C) is governed by rules
D) involves content dimensions
Answer: A
Learning Objective: 1.4 Discuss five principles of interpersonal communication.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication Principles
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
27) Monica is being punished by her teacher because the teacher didn’t care for the way Monica said, “Yes,
Ma’am.” Her nasal rendition of “yes” and the long drawn out “Ma’am” suggested a lack of respect that the teacher
considered unacceptable. The teacher’s dissatisfaction with Monica’s statement demonstrates which characteristic of
interpersonal relationships?
A) Interpersonal communication has both systems and processes.
B) Interpersonal communication has both content and relationship dimensions.
C) Interpersonal communication is irreversible.
D) Interpersonal communication is governed by social rules.
Answer: B
Learning Objective: 1.4 Discuss five principles of interpersonal communication.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication Principles
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
28) Beth sends Julian an e-mail asking him to meet her at the bank at 2:30 p.m. She is on time, but Julian doesn’t
arrive until 3:15 p.m. When she asks him why he is late, he replies, “I came as soon as I got your message.” The
problem they are encountering may stem from the fact that a message sent by e-mail is __________.
A) synchronous
B) instantaneous
C) asynchronous
D) unreliable
Answer: C
7
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Learning Objective: 1.5 Discuss the role of electronically mediated communication in developing and maintaining
interpersonal relationships.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and Social Media
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
29) What statement best describes the findings of Tidwell and Walther about computer-mediated communication
versus face-to-face interaction?
A) People ask more direct questions but reveal less about themselves online.
B) People ask less direct questions and reveal less about themselves online.
C) People ask more direct questions and reveal more about themselves online.
D) People ask less direct questions but reveal more about themselves online.
Answer: C
Learning Objective: 1.5 Discuss the role of electronically mediated communication in developing and maintaining
interpersonal relationships.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and Social Media
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
30) Research has found that those who need to communicate something negative, such as a desire to end a
relationship, often select a __________ communication medium.
A) less rich
B) more personal
C) more rich
D) non-electronic
Answer: A
Learning Objective: 1.5 Discuss the role of electronically mediated communication in developing and maintaining
interpersonal relationships.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and Social Media
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
31) What enhances the feeling of social presence for electronic communicators?
A) anonymity
B) asynchronous messaging
C) synchronous messaging
D) distance
Answer: C
Learning Objective: 1.5 Discuss the role of electronically mediated communication in developing and maintaining
interpersonal relationships.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and Social Media
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Answer: A
Learning Objective: 1.5 Discuss the role of electronically mediated communication in developing and maintaining
interpersonal relationships.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and Social Media
8
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
33) __________ theory suggests that emotional expression is severely restricted when we use only text-based
messages to communicate.
A) Media richness
B) Cues-filtered-out
C) Diminished capacity
D) Transactional interference
Answer: B
Learning Objective: 1.5 Discuss the role of electronically mediated communication in developing and maintaining
interpersonal relationships.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and Social Media
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Answer: D
Learning Objective: 1.5 Discuss the role of electronically mediated communication in developing and maintaining
interpersonal relationships.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and Social Media
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
35) Which best describes the findings of Rodriguez and Wise in their study of college students' use of deceptive text
messages?
A) Text messaging was rarely used by students to lie.
B) Students were more likely to send untrue texts to friends and family than to strangers.
C) Students were more likely to send deceptive Facebook messages than text messages.
D) Detecting untrue text messages was easiest for students who reported always being truthful.
Answer: B
Learning Objective: 1.5 Discuss the role of electronically mediated communication in developing and maintaining
interpersonal relationships.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and Social Media
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
36) Margarita is having an important conversation with her father through text messaging. According to social
information-processing theory, how is Margarita's ability to communicate relational and emotional messages
impacted in since electronic communication lacks nonverbal cues?
A) Margarita cannot express these kinds of messages.
B) Margarita can express these kinds of messages more accurately.
C) Margarita can express these kinds of messages, but it may take her more time.
D) Margarita can express relational messages but not emotional messages.
Answer: C
Learning Objective: 1.5 Discuss the role of electronically mediated communication in developing and maintaining
interpersonal relationships.
9
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and Social Media
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
37) Taron loves to dance, so he attends a ballroom class each Monday evening. Taron feels happy after each class,
and he thinks it is because he is surrounded by classmates who all have positive attitudes. Which concept explains
how Taron's emotions are impacted by attending dance class?
A) emotional contagion
B) synchronous communication
C) social presence
D) social information-processing theory
Answer: A
Learning Objective: 1.5 Discuss the role of electronically mediated communication in developing and maintaining
interpersonal relationships.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and Social Media
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
38) Jozea notices that he is not successful in expressing his ideas to others. To help, a friend suggests that Jozea
should adopt an other-oriented approach, meaning that he should __________.
A) consider the thoughts and feelings of others, but at the cost of his own integrity
B) consider the thoughts and feelings of others while still maintaining his own integrity
C) think of others when communicating but not allow it to impact his interactions
D) attempt to converse with as many people possible
Answer: B
Learning Objective: 1.6 Identify strategies that can improve your communication competence.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication Competence
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
39) When we create a message without giving much thought to the person who is listening, we are engaging in
__________.
A) self-centered thinking
B) egocentric communication
C) emotional contagion
D) interpersonal communication
Answer: B
Learning Objective: 1.6 Identify strategies that can improve your communication competence.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication Competence
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
40) To be a competent communicator is to express messages that are perceived to be both effective and __________.
A) direct
B) valuable
C) interesting
D) appropriate
Answer: D
Learning Objective: 1.6 Identify strategies that can improve your communication competence.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication Competence
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
10
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Essay
Answer:
• Impersonal
o People treated as objects
o People communicate in “I-It” relationships
o Mechanical, stilted interaction, and no honest sharing of feelings
o Communicating with people with whom you have no history and expect no future
• Interpersonal
o People treated as unique individuals
o People communicate in “I-Thou” relationships
o True dialogue and honest sharing of self with others
o Communicating with someone you care about such as a friend or family member
Learning Objective: 1.1 Compare and contrast definitions of communication, human communication, and
interpersonal communication.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication Defined
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Answer:
• Unless you live in isolation, you communicate interpersonally every day.
• Listening to your roommate, talking to a teacher, texting a friend, and talking to your parents or your
spouse in person or via Skype are all examples of interpersonal communication.
• People always interpret what you say or do as a message, whether they are correct or not. So, as long as
people are in contact with other people, communication will take place.
Learning Objective: 1.1 Compare and contrast definitions of communication, human communication, and
interpersonal communication.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication Defined
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
3) Briefly describe the differences between communication, human communication, and interpersonal
communication.
Answer:
• Communication is a process of acting on information
• Human communication is a process of making sense out of the world and sharing it with others by creating
meaning through the use of verbal and nonverbal messages.
• Interpersonal communication, distinct from the others, is a transactional form of human communication
that incorporates mutual influence primarily for the purpose of influencing relationships.
Learning Objective: 1.1 Compare and contrast definitions of communication, human communication, and
interpersonal communication.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication Defined
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
4) Discuss in which communication model the sources can be both sender and receiver.
11
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Answer:
• The model of communication as transaction acknowledges that when we talk to another person face to face,
we are constantly reacting to our partner’s responses.
• Thus, all the components of the communication process in this model are simultaneous.
Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the communication process, including key components and models of
communication as action, interaction, and transaction.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and the Communication Process
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
5) Define explicit and implicit rules in interpersonal communication, and provide your own example of each.
Answer:
• Explicit rules are stated or written.
o An example is that there is no loud talking in the college library, so conversational partners know
to keep their volume low when discussing the research they are seeking. Loud talking will result in
being asked to leave the library.
• Implicit rules are not spelled out.
o An example is that each person in a conversation speaks in turn and does not talk over the
conversational partner.
• Student examples may vary.
6) Using an example, briefly explain the difference between the content and the relationship dimensions of
interpersonal communication.
Answer:
• Student examples may vary.
• Example: Jill tells Jack to clean the kitchen. Jack says it’s Jill’s turn.
o Content: topic of cleaning the kitchen—what was said.
o Relationship: offers cues about the emotions, attitudes, and amount of power and control the
speaker feels with regard to the other person; who can tell whom what to do—how it was said.
7) What are some disadvantages of using electronically mediated communication in a particular relationship?
Answer:
• The nature or type of the relationship will influence the answers given.
• Disadvantages may include: the asynchronous nature of some electronic messages, the potential for
deception, the limits on the nonverbal cues available, the skill and ability the interactants have with typing
and writing, and the limitations that some media have for expressing emotions.
Learning Objective: 1.5 Discuss the role of electronically mediated communication in developing and maintaining
interpersonal relationships.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and Social Media
12
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
8) Name the four criteria of richness of a communication channel and how they can be applied.
Answer:
• Media richness theory suggests that the richness of a communication channel is based on four criteria:
o The amount of feedback that the communicator can receive
o The number of cues that the channel can convey and that can be interpreted by a receiver
o The variety of language that a communicator uses
o The potential for expressing emotions and feelings.
• Using these four criteria, researchers have developed a continuum of communication channels, from
communication-rich to communication-lean.
o Some evidence suggests that those wishing to communicate a negative message, such as a
message ending a relationship, may select a less rich communication medium. On the other hand,
those who want to share good news tend to communicate in person so they can enjoy the positive
reaction to the message.
• Media richness theory also suggests that the restriction of nonverbal cues, which provides information
about the nature of the relationship between communicators, hampers the quality of relationships that can
be established using EMC.
Learning Objective: 1.5 Discuss the role of electronically mediated communication in developing and maintaining
interpersonal relationships.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication and Social Media
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Answer:
• Ethics are the beliefs, values, and moral principles by which we determine what is right or wrong.
• Characteristics of ethical communicators:
o Sensitive to the needs of others, give people choices rather than forcing them to act a certain way,
keep private information that others wish to be kept private, honesty, avoid diminishing others'
self-worth, don't tell people only what they want to hear.
Learning Objective: 1.6 Identify strategies that can improve your communication competence.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication Competence
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply the Concepts
10) You and your neighbor carpool to work every day since you both work in the same office. You believed this
would be a good way for you both to save money on gas, but your neighbor has not been paying her fair share
for the past few months. You've decided to discuss the situation with her, but you need to do some careful
planning first. Describe a conversation you might have with her that incorporates the strategies of being
effective and appropriate.
Answer:
• Student answers may vary, but must include that to be effective, messages must be understood by others
and achieve their desired effects.
o In this case, the desired effect is that the neighbor chips in for carpooling.
• Responses must also indicate that messages must be appropriate, by taking into account the time, place, and
overall context of the message in order to be sensitive to the feelings and attitudes of the neighbor.
Learning Objective: 1.6 Identify strategies that can improve your interpersonal communication competence.
13
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Topic: Interpersonal Communication Competence
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
14
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
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prova d’amore.
Se avesse osato, avrebbe protestato contro Ruggeri. D’altronde,
pensava: — Che c’è di male? Se non avessi potuto rimborsarla
sarebbe stato altro affare... E poi, a mia insaputa; io non sono
menomamente imputabile... Buona Giulia! Mentre io mi disperavo,
essa accorreva tacitamente in soccorso mio... Senza neppur
prevenirmi per delicatezza.
Frattanto si rassettava frettolosamente. Scampato al pericolo, al
pericolo passato non pensava, divorato dall’impazienza di rivedere
Giulia, di ringraziarla, di effondere ne’ caldi baci la riconoscenza
traboccante.
— Poveretta, jersera mi avrà inutilmente aspettato...
Una nube ripassò sulla fronte rasserenata.
— Ferretti arrestato! E la liquidazione di domani? Dovrò nuovamente
ricorrere ad Ettore... A lui che mi fa sì pesantemente sentire il suo
appoggio, i suoi favori. Meno male! Domani si tratterà di riscuotere,
non di pagare...
Ettore, mentre Giuliano stava vestendosi, indovinando gli intimi
pensieri dell’amico, si sdegnava...
— Ha ragione il commendatore; l’acqua non risale alla sorgente. Sul
pendìo precipita... È finita! Compirò il mio dovere, e poi
l’abbandonerò al destino.
Allorchè Giuliano stava per uscire:
— Ti raccomando di far presto. Ritorna colle cambiali... Fra un’ora
devi essere alla Camera... Sollecita!
Nella fretta, Giuliano usciva senza salutare... Sul limitare ristette
pentito; ritornò ad Ettore:
— Come ringraziarti di tutto ciò che hai fatto per me?
— Non ringraziarmi... Va, e ritorna presto. Io sono sulle spine per
quelle tue cambiali, più che se fossero in mano del notajo per il
protesto.
— Buon Ettore!
E giulivo abbracciò l’amico in un impeto riconoscente...
— Fra venti minuti sarò di ritorno... non temere, non tarderò.
Nell’uscire il suo sguardo cadde su di un vaso riboccante di fiori
sciolti; ne tolse un garofano rosso, se lo mise all’occhiello dell’abito e
sparì correndo, mandando ancora un saluto ad Ettore, che, rimasto
solo, ritornò al suo pensiero dominante, a Stella. La distrazione
cessata, il dolore riprendeva il suo impero.
L’eleganza di quella camera da letto, quantunque nel massimo
disordine, rivelava la mano intelligente ed affettuosa della donna, i
mille ninnoli rovinosi e inutili, sparsi sui mobili, regalucci da
innamorati, e fiori... Fiori smaglianti e profumati agonizzavano nei
vasi giapponesi, fiori avvizziti, appuntati a mazzolini cogli spilli al
grande arazzo della parete, contro la quale poggiava il letto di
Giuliano, eran tutto un calendario di giorni felici.
— Giuliano rientra la notte e non getta il fiore donatogli, lo appunta
alla parete, pensava malinconicamente Ruggeri.
Le cento fotografie della marchesa Giulia in cento abbigliamenti
diversi... I cuscinetti da spilli ricamati, la disposizione del sontuoso
mobilio, i paralumi colorati, capilavori di modista, dai nastri
sapientemente intrecciati dalla mano della marchesa, rappresentata
stupendamente in costume di Mignon, nel solo quadro ad olio.
Deliziosa Mignon, pittura del Verni, il celebre autore della Maddalena
ribelle.
Tutto sentiva l’amore, l’amore trionfante, felice, in quella camera
dall’acre sentore di sandalo, che si espandeva inebbriante dal soffice
tappeto orientale.
Come un senso di invidia morse Ettore al cuore...
— Egli ama riamato e felice! Felice anche nel delitto, ch’è delitto
l’abbandono della famiglia; felice nella vergogna per le sue colpe...
Riamato e felice!... A me l’amore nella disperazione. A che giova la
mia virtù?
«Ho anticipata la vecchiaja in un’esistenza da cenobita, casto contro
natura, per serbare fede ad una fanciulla che non sarà mai mia e
forse non mi ama e, nell’illusione di amarmi, sacrifica in sterile
celibato la sua fiorente giovinezza, allucinata, la martire, dalle
bugiarde visioni di una vita precedente, visioni ch’io le feci balenare
ed essa credette realtà nei mistici entusiasmi giovanili...
«Forse non mi ama; si appassiona soltanto al mio romanzo, che
ormai è il suo, eroina fantastica, risorta per riamarmi.
«Amore inverisimile, il quale spezza due esistenze, condanna per la
vita due esseri al dolore.
«Che importa la virtù?
«Giuliano, venuto meno a tutti i doveri, appena salvato dal disonore,
lo rivedo raggiante di gioja per una nuova prova d’amore che,
accettata, sarebbe l’infamia... e nell’incredibile egoismo di amante
non ha un pensiero per la povera abbandonata, che per lui si
immiserisce col figlio.
«Tutto ciò è infame; ma egli non se ne avvede, non si ravvede, ed è
felice.
Con invida curiosità, Ettore esaminava minutamente ogni oggetto, il
monogramma di Giuliano, ricamato in cento maniere... Un serico
cuscino portava una data soltanto...
— Certamente quella del loro primo incontro...
Due figurine di Sassonia, abbracciate, rappresentanti forse Fausto e
l’Elena greca della leggenda; sullo zoccolo di bronzo, a caratteri
d’oro, in rilievo, eravi la scritta: «Oggi e sempre!... anche all’Inferno!»
Sfida terribile di Giulia alla sua fede... Più forte l’amore della
religione... Religione l’amore per Giuliano, nella giovine donna
innamorata!
Un cofanetto in legno di sandalo, lavoro paziente, sorprendente, di
artista arabo, lasciato aperto da Giuliano, era colmo di lettere... Lo
rinchiuse, Ettore, girando la chiave d’oro a doppia mandata, quasi
per vincere la tentazione di frugare in quel cofano misterioso, nel
quale erano custodite le espansioni innamorate della marchesa...
Un lungo sospiro...
— Per Giuliano è finita! Il ravvedimento impossibile; un’anima debole
come la sua non ritorna da un simile amore.
Snervato da quelle indagini, offeso da tanta felicità, insulto per lui in
quei giorni desolati, premette il bottone elettrico ed al cameriere che
si era presentato sul limitare della porta:
— Il conte è uscito... Potete rassettare la sua camera da letto;
l’attenderò in salotto.
La stessa cosa. Anche là, l’acre profumo orientale, anche là la
presenza di Giulia in ogni oggetto... Anche là per lui la inseparabile
ombra di Stella, per sempre perduta, più spasmodico il pensiero
della propria miseria, innanzi alle prove di tanta felicità.
Quando Giuliano fu di ritorno, la serenità giuliva dell’amico lo irritò...
— Le cambiali? gli chiese rudemente.
— Eccole... Le aveva ritirate, per incarico della marchesa, il
commendatore Cerasi... Passai a palazzo Braschi a riprenderle...
— Sta bene! Ora vattene alla Camera, vacci a testa alta... Per oggi il
tuo onore è salvo; non contare mai più su di me. Che Dio, il destino,
ti ajutino... Il mio còmpito di bambinaja è finito!
Giuliano rimase atterrito al brutale congedo. Nell’egoismo di fanciullo
viziato, egli non aveva mai pensato che l’appoggio di Ruggeri gli
potesse mancare, del quale, specialmente in quell’ora, sentiva
l’assoluta necessità.
Fissò in volto l’amico, collo sguardo cerulo, del color del mare,
direbbe il poeta, sguardo attonito e impaurito, come quello di un
piccolo eroe de’ racconti di fate, minacciato dell’abbandono della
provvida guida in oscura, paurosa foresta...
— Ettore, mi abbandoneresti, ora che ho maggior bisogno di te?
— E che posso io fare? Non eri tu jeri lo sposo ed il padre più felice;
non sei tu oggi l’amante più fortunato? Avevi un patrimonio
pazientemente ammassato da tuo padre. L’hai in pochi mesi
dilapidato...
«Che vuoi ch’io faccia? Il tuo onore era compromesso, ho tentato
salvarlo, spero esservi riuscito. Ora a te. Hai appena trent’anni...
Quindi, se saprai, se vorrai, l’avvenire può essere tuo.
«Io partirò presto... Domani a Miralto per i funebri della madre di
Stella... Poi riprenderò la rotta pel capo Horn; presso le coste cilene,
nell’immenso Pacifico, vi è un’isola che si chiama della Desolazione:
quella la mia terra di deportazione.
— Morta la madre di Stella! E non mi hai detto nulla?
— Che dirti? Ti interessi tu a qualche cosa nel tuo egoismo?
Giuliano stette pensoso, umiliato, non potendo in alcun modo
scolparsi...
— È vero... Ancora un favore ti debbo chiedere, poi farò ciò che
vorrai.
«Ferretti è stato arrestato e domani è giorno di liquidazione in borsa,
la seconda profittevole fra tante disastrose. Io non mi intendo di
borsa; vorrei almeno che prima di partire tu andassi dal mio agente
di cambio, per vedere come sono gli affari miei, per liquidare ogni
partita. Ho giurato di non tornarci più... Questo ultimo favore non me
lo puoi negare. Dopo domani, quando sarai di ritorno...
— Se non è che questo, soggiunse interrompendolo, Ettore, con un
amaro sorriso, ti servirò, quantunque di borsa dovrei intendermene
meno io che non ci ho mai perduto un centesimo...
«Ed ora andiamo alla Camera!
CAPITOLO XX.
La bufera.
*
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