We have already mentioned the theory that La Traviata constitutes some kind of isolated autobiographical confession. Only in the sense that all an artist's work is part of his biography can this be regarded as true. We will however review the question briefly – if only to disprove it. Some of the facts surrounding this case are quite significant, as they offer almost our only glimpse of Verdi's more intimate side; they cannot illuminate La Traviata, but they do at least allow for a greater understanding of the composer and his small social world.

As we have said earlier, Verdi did not immediately return to Italy after the London première of I Masnadieri, but remained for some time – perhaps too long, some have considered, given the current situation on the eve of 1848 – in Paris, where he began to live with Giuseppina. Towards the end of 1847, after the première of Jérusalem at the Opera, he moved with Giuseppina to a rented house at Passy. Here, for the first time in ten years, he seems to have found a little peace. There were a few trips to Italy – one in the spring of 1848, another in January 1849 – and Verdi went alone, leaving Giuseppina in Paris.