Character Relationship Map: L'Eclisse

Characters

• Piero (played by Alain Delon) — protagonist

  Piero is a young stockbroker who works for Vittoria's mother and profits from an inside tip before facing a major market loss. He drives Vittoria, pursues her romantically, and eventually begins a sex...

• Vittoria (played by Monica Vitti) — protagonist

  Vittoria is a young literary translator and the film's central figure. She ends her relationship with Riccardo, struggles to explain her feelings, and gradually becomes involved with Piero. Although s...

• Riccardo (played by Francisco Rabal) — supporting

  Riccardo is Vittoria's former partner. After a long conversation in his apartment, he tries to persuade her not to leave, but she tells him that she no longer loves him. He walks her home afterward an...

• Vittoria's Mother (played by Lilla Brignone) — supporting

  Vittoria's Mother is an active investor at the Rome Stock Exchange and Piero's client. She is so absorbed in her trading profits that she barely responds when Vittoria tries to discuss the breakup. Af...

• Anita (played by Rossana Rory) — supporting

  Anita is Vittoria's neighbor and confidante during the period surrounding Vittoria's breakup. She visits Vittoria so they can discuss the separation, then invites her to Marta's apartment. Anita later...

• Marta (played by Mirella Ricciardi) — supporting

  Marta is a neighbor of Vittoria and Anita who lives nearby and invites them to her apartment. Having returned from Kenya, she expresses openly racist fears about the native population. Her visit becom...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Vittoria's Mother → Vittoria (mother)
• Piero → Vittoria (Romantic Developing Lover) — Piero and Vittoria develop an intimate but uncertain romantic relationship.

  Piero repeatedly seeks contact with Vittoria, eventually kisses her, and has sex with her at his parents' apartment.

• Vittoria → Riccardo (Romantic Former Lover) — Their relationship has ended, but Riccardo still wants Vittoria to remain with him.

  Vittoria ends her relationship with Riccardo after a long night of conversation, telling him that she no longer loves him.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Vittoria → Marta (Conflict Ideological Challenger) — Vittoria's mocking performance challenges Marta's colonialist attitudes.

  At Marta's apartment, Vittoria imitates an African tribal dance after Marta makes racist remarks, and Marta asks her to stop.

• Anita → Marta (Social Acquaintance) — Anita and Marta belong to the same local social circle.

  Anita receives Marta's call inviting her and Vittoria to Marta's nearby apartment.

• Vittoria → Anita (Social Neighboring Friend) — Anita offers companionship during Vittoria's transition between relationships.

  Anita visits Vittoria to discuss the breakup, and Vittoria later accompanies Anita and her husband on a trip to Verona.

Story Analysis

Vittoria moves from a completed relationship into a new romance whose emotional uncertainty culminates in mutual absence.

Plot Progression

1. A Love Already Ending — Vittoria ends her relationship with Riccardo after a long conversation. She seeks connection with her mother and friends but remains emotionally unsettled.
2. Social Masks and Market Noise — Vittoria spends time with Anita and Marta while encountering colonialist attitudes and social discomfort. Her attempt to tell her mother about the breakup is displaced by stock-market excitement.
3. Money, Loss, and Attraction — A market crash damages Vittoria's family finances, bringing her into closer contact with Piero. Their encounters are interrupted by rejected advances, professional pressure, and the theft of Piero's c...
4. Intimacy Without Certainty — After the car is recovered from the lake, Vittoria and Piero continue circling one another. They finally become sexually intimate, but Vittoria remains unable to define her feelings.
5. The Unkept Appointment — Piero and Vittoria discuss marriage, love, and meeting every day. Their final agreement ends in mutual absence at the construction site.