Confession and Shame

I believe that in order understand "Giovanni's Room", you must first comprehend the complex emotions of David. He is wrought with a sense of confusion, which as Jacques states, "is a luxury which only the very, very young can possibly afford", and now that this sense of confusion has followed him towards adulthood, he is left to wrestle with these feelings, resulting in utter disillusionment and denial. Therefore, because he denies his innermost urges to divulge the secrets of his sexuality, he is left to convince himself that his emotions are shameful and dirty. However, these emotions are as Jaqcues puts it, his actions "will be dirty because you will be giving nothing... but you can make your time together (with Giovanni) anything but dirty... if you will not be ashamed" (57). What Jaqcues is trying to explain is that these emotions and actions are dirty only because David believes they are. He stresses the importance that David is the one who must determine whether these actions are shameful, and in turn they will not reflect shamefully if he acts with feeling, emotion, and acceptance. By ignoring and repressing such feelings, David believes that he will be free of shame, however the shame comes from denying his inner desires and not accepting the truth of his character and love.