Florestan is the male protagonist in Ludwig van Beethoven’s only opera ”Fidelio” (Leonore, or The Triumph of Married Love, Op. 72) The setting is a political prison near Seville in the 18th century where Florestan is imprisoned for having denounced the illegalities of the governor Don Pizzarro. The opera tells how Florestan’s wife Leonore, disguised as a prison guard named “Fidelio” searches for her husband. When Florestan’s execution is imminent, Leonore risks discovery and death for love, finally freeing her beloved from his chains and his fellow prisoners from oppression.

The pattern of the socks shows vertical lines like the prison bars in the opera, but they are overlaid by Xs,
a very old sign for faith and love, representing the final triumph of love over tyranny.

The 2 other related sock patterns can be found here: Leonore and Fidelio