Does Anatole’s experimentation on a prisoner seem ethical? If not, why do you think we root for him anyway? Does it make a difference that Pito agreed to them if it will help Tullia? How do these actions make us feel about him as a character?
In today’s world prisoner experimentation is certainly frowned on. It is considered inhumane. There have been a number of reports of experimentation in our country’s past history - think about the women who were sterilized without their consent. Think about what the Nazi’s did to Jewish people to figure out medical success or failure. These examples are horrific and should never be repeated.
In this situation, though, Anatole’s experimentation was to save Pito’s life. Pito knew about the different teas and consented in order to help Tullia. Pito, in my mind, was a hero - willing to participate in order to help someone else.
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Having daily visits from Anatole probably helped Pito survive his imprisonment with his sanity.
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In today’s world prisoner testing is not ethical or acceptable. I felt better about the experimentation because Pito agreed, however, did he really have a choice? It showed how much Pito would do because he loved Tullia.
I think it was “okay”, since he told Pito at least sort of what he was doing, had his approval, and ultimately was trying to save his life and at least make things easier for Tullia.