To what extent does The Marriage Portrait have a happy ending? Which factors stand in the way of the heroine’s triumph?

To what extent does O’Farrell present a consistent picture of what life was like for women in Renaissance Italy? How does she account for the variations in women’s degrees of freedom and mobility?

What role do romance and sentimental attachments between men and women play in the novel? To what extent do these inform Lucrezia’s actions?