Character Relationship Map: The Howl

Characters

• Anita Annigoni (played by Tina Aumont) — protagonist

  The central protagonist, a young woman trapped in a stifling conventional life who escapes to a psychiatric hospital in search of personal freedom and existential authenticity.

• Berto Bertuccioli (played by Nino Segurini) — supporting

  A fellow resident of the psychiatric hospital who contributes to the ensemble of eccentric characters, highlighting the diverse manifestations of madness and nonconformity.

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Berto Bertuccioli → Anita Annigoni (Romantic Fiancés) — Berto tries to turn their relationship into an orderly, respectable marriage, while Anita's repeated cries that the wedding is a trap disrupt the ceremony.

  Berto goes to the police seeking the release of his fiancée, Anita. He proposes marriage after they are reunited, and she agrees, but their wedding ce...

Story Analysis

A conventional marriage gives way to surreal encounters that expose a world experienced as absurd, coercive, and confining.

Plot Progression

1. Release and Reunion — Anita is detained after a demonstration, and Berto appeals to the police for her release. Once reunited, Anita recounts degrading treatment in custody.
2. The Wedding Trap — Berto proposes marriage and Anita accepts, but arranging the date is awkward. At the ceremony, Anita calls the wedding a trap, and the proceedings dissolve into confusion.
3. Conversations of the Absurd — The story moves through encounters with eccentric figures whose exchanges combine provocation, criticism, and absurdity. Claims that everything is normal contrast with behavior that appears anything b...
4. Hunger and Bleak Landscapes — A conversation about hunger and the preparation of human flesh turns survival into grotesque argument. Disjointed wanderings and Coso's exchange deepen the sense of a world experienced as confinement.
5. The Institution in Revolt — At the psychiatric institution, the director boasts of control and demands submission. An announcement of liberation provokes his increasingly frantic denunciations, culminating in a chant against a w...