Chapter 2 • Vita Nuova
Dimitri was an admirer of Cavafy. But he was not particularly inspired by the poet’s dictum in the poem, “Do What You Can”, during that particular summer. Since he could not live his life as he wished, what did it matter if he cheapened it by “too much contact with the crowd, too much posturing and idle chatter”. It was not that he had given in to his father, at least not in the beginning. As far as he was concerned, he would do anything but give in. But since he was not naturally violent or rebellious, he had adopted a method of passive resistance.
Dimitri had not the strength openly to contest the parameters that his father set him. But without stepping beyond them, he could interpret the rules that had been imposed upon him in his own way. His father could marry
