The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

In Givola’s flower shop, Betty Dullfeet’s husband Ignatius learns that Roma has been killed. This means that Ui’s “rebellious adolescence” (70) is over, Betty tells her husband. She urges him to seal the deal with Ui. Giri enters, wearing Roma’s hat, which he claims to have taken from Givola. He leaves, causing Ignatius to bitterly ruminate on his forced alliance with these violent criminals. He feels a sense of “terrible foreboding” (71).

Ui and Givola enter, introducing themselves warmly to Ignatius. Ui dismisses the “simple misunderstandings” (71) of the recent past and proclaims his distaste for violence. He and Ignatius both want a healthy economy, he says. Becoming frank, he confesses that he and his crew were not “up to the highest moral standards” (72) but blames this on the nature of war. Now, he wants Ignatius to trust him. He wants them to be friends and, importantly, to stop printing negative stories about Ui.

Givola gives a tour of his store, moving through the arrangements in pairs. Each time a pair appears in a different combination, they talk in rhyming couplets. Betty quizzes Ui on his political views, for example, and Ui claims to be “a socialist—which [he proves] by taking money from the rich” (74).