The Enchantress Of Florence

The “memory palace” (225) recounts the story of Argalia to Il Machia. After being captured by the Turkish fleet, he was taken to the children’s prison camp where captured and enslaved children from around the Ottoman Empire are converted to Islam and trained as soldiers and other professions. Il Machia visits the brothel between errands, but he is constantly “thinking about the palace of memories” (226) and the story of his childhood friend. He teases the stories out of her slowly while touching her body. The brothel owners watch on, hoping that he might return her to something resembling normality by unraveling the memories that have been placed inside her mind.

Argalia, the French woman says, became “the greatest Janissary fighter in the history of the Corps” (229). He surrounds himself with “a coterie of other young warriors” (230) from diverse backgrounds. As she progresses into the story, Il Machia assures the woman that “this is the last time [she] will ever tell this story” (232), and he feels proud of himself for helping her in what he believes to be a selfless fashion. As the story reaches a point where Argalia is almost the same age as Il Machia, she tells how he won the trust of the Sultan.