Luigi Pirandello



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Luigi Pirandello (1867)

"Il Fu Mattia Pascal/ The Late Mattia Pascal" (1904) ++

The narrator tells use that he only knows his name: Mattia Pascal. He also tells us that he's a man blessed with three deaths. He was a librarian. His friend, priest Eligio, encouraged him to write the story of his life. And so we read the book that Mattia's wrote.

Mattia's father was rich but died and his mother lost everything. Aunt Scolastica tried in vain to make her marry an old suitor, Pomino. Batta Malagna, the man in charge of running the father's business, ruined them, stealing while they (mother and two boys) overspent. Tutor pinzone instead of school Both Mattia and his brother Berto were lazy. The evil Malagna was a widower with no children. He didn't want to admit that he couldn't have children. Malagna married the young Oliva, whom Mattia wanted for himself, and mistreated her because again she bore him no children. Then Malagna started thinking of his niece Romilda (whom Pomino loved). A desperate Romilda gave herself to Mattia and got pregnant. Malagna offered to marry her and adopt the child as his own to save face. But this meant that in public Oliva was not only betrayed but also exposed as the one who couldn't have children. Oliva, desperate, slept with Mattia, and she too got pregnant. Malagna, now furious, forced Mattia to marry Romilda despite Romilda's mother hating Mattia. Malagna stole even the last possessions of the family and Mattia was completely ruined. Berto married a rich woman and left town. Mattia and Romilda lived with Romilda's mother and had to take in also Mattia's penniless mother. Mattia's mother was mistreated. Zia scholastica rescued her after a comic brawl. Pomino forgave Mattia and found him a job as librarian replacing the old one. The old one kept coming to work anyway. The library was in a terrible state, books eaten by mice. Mattia asked for cats to solve the problem. He started reading philosophy books out of boredom. Oliva gave birth to a boy and Romilda gave birth to two girls but both died. Mattia's mother died too. Mattia decided to dump Romilda and leave for America but then accidentally bought a book on winning at the roulette. In Montecarlo he was first robbed but then started winning big. Eventually he started losing but he still had gained quite a lot. Hearing that a young man killed himself, Mattia wisely decided to leave town and head back home a rich man.
On the train he reads in the newspaper the news that a disappeared man has been found dead in his town: him. He realizes that, having been declared dead, he is a free man. The following day he even reads the details of his own funeral. He adopts a a new name, Adriano Meis, and enjoys manufacturing a new past. For a while he travels but then feels lonely. And realizes that he can't have real friends, because he can't reveal the truth about his life. He moves to Roma. He takes a room in the house of the aging retired Anselmo, who is a teosophist and believes in contacting the dead. The other tenant is a piano tutor, Silvia, an ugly spinster who is drunk and unhappy because she has no husband. She is also broke but Anselmo keeps her because she pretends to be a medium and he uses her for his psychic experiments. Anselmo is obsessed by death and this reminds mattia that he still has to die. Anselmo is a widower with a sweet teenage daughter, Andriana. One evening Mattia saves a prostitute from four thugs. Silvia falls in love with the mysterious Adriano and wants to know his secret past. Adriana too has a crush on him and listens attentively. Adriana talks him into removing an ugly polip by the eye. One night Mattia finds out that Adriana's brother-in-law Terenzio is Silvia's lover. Terenzio seems unhappy that the family took this Adriano Meis as tenant. The reason is that Adriano Meis could find out how they scam Anselmo: he and Silvia pretend that Silvia communicates with a dead man. Terenzio is broke and is looking for a way to avoid paying the money that he owes Anselmo. At the same time, Terenzio is secretary to a nostalgic aristocrat who misses the days when southern Italy was Spanish. The unhappy Silvia confesses to Mattia that Terenzio wants to marry Adriana to get out of his debt. One day Mattia hears the voice of a Spaniard who witnessed Mattia's win in Montecarlo: Pantogada. Afraid of being unmasked as Mattia, Mattia opts for eye surgery that implies 40 days confined in the dark in his room. Terenzio also encourages Mattia to seduce Pepita, the niece of his aristocratic boss who happens to be the daughter of Pantogada. They are all asked by Anselmo to participate in a seance. During the seance Terenzio punches Silvia in the face but the seance in the dark also helps Mattia conquer the shy and pure Adriana. They exchange a kiss at the next seance. Everybody knows that it is a scam devised by Terenzio and Silvia except Anselmo who truly believes that Silvia evokes a dead man named Max. One night however a real spirit disrupts the seance. Terenzio and Silvia are terrified when they see the table levitate and so are Mattia and the others, except Anselmo who thinks it's the usual Max. Mattia freaks out suspecting that the spirit could be the man buried as Mattia Pascal. Mattia also comes to realize that his fake death freed his wife, not him: she is a widow and can marry again whereas he cannot marry Adriana because he would have to tell her the truth that he is someone else, not the unmarried Adriano Meis but the married Mattia Pascal. Mattia finally opens the window to let light in after 40 days and realizes that someone stole money from his room. Adriana sees it too and is ashamed that the theft happened in her house. They both suspect Terenzio. Adriana wants to call the police bur Mattia/Adriano can't because he is living under a false identity. Again he realizes that he is not really free. He even begs Adriana not to tell anyone of the theft. He just can't afford that the police will start asking questions. The following day Terenzio announces that he's leaving the house and Adriana reveals the theft to her father Anselmo. Anselmo and Terenzio get into a bitter argument. Terenzio denies stealing. Adriano/Mattia arrives and, to avoid a police investigation, claims to have found the missing money, making Adriana looks silly. Mattia decides he must kill Adriana's love for him. He flirts with Pepita but this causes her lover Bernaldez to challenge him to a duel. Then Mattia decides to fake his own suicide, the suicide of Adriano Meis. He flees to Pisa where Adriano Meis acts as tour guide for Mattia Pascal. The following day he reads in the newspapers the news of Adriano's suicide. One journalist speculates that he killed himself for a woman, Pepita. This is sure to heal Adriana of her crush. Mattia visits his brother who tells him that his wife married Pomino, her old suitor, a rich man. But the law says that the marriage will be null and void if the disappeared husband returns. Mattia returns to his hometown and shows up at Pomino's house. He shocks everyone and learns that Romilda just had a baby from Pomino. Now Mattia has a son who is formally Malagna's son and his wife Romilda has a daughter from Pomino. Mattia is willing to leave them alone but he still wants to live again as Mattia in his hometown. He moves in with aunt Scolastica and Eligio convinces him to write this book, which takes six months.

"I Vecchi e i Giovani" (1913)

A Girgenti, in Sicilia, vivono i tre gia` anziani nobili fratelli Laurentano: il principe Ippolito (ancora fedele al passato borbonico, tanto da tenere una guardia in divisa d'epoca), don Cosmo (fedele, invece, alla figura del padre Gerlando, esule del Risorgimento), e donna Caterina (ripudiata dal principe perche' sposa d'un martire dell'Unita`, Stefano Aurite, uno dei Mille). Con don Cosmo vive Mauro Mortara, un altro ex garibaldino che udi` le ultime parole di Stefano, ed e` ferocemente affezionato all'Italia unita. Donan Caterina ha un figlio, Roberto, che cerca di continuare in politica l'opera paterna, e percio` si presenta come candidato alle elezioni. Il principe don Ippolito sposa Adelaide Salvo, sorella del ricco Stefano, padrone tra l'altro delle zolfatare in cui si manifestano i primi torbidi socialisti; sua figlia Daniella e` innamorata sin da bambina dell'attuale ingegnere delle zolfatare, Aurelio Costa. Alle elezioni vince Ignazio Capolino, il candidato appoggiato da Salvo; la moglie del nuovo deputato, Nicoletta, e`, d'altronde, l'amante di Salvo, praticamente vedovo di una moglie pazza.

Intanto, a Roma cova la tragedia. Tra i tanti scandali dell'epoca ce n'e` uno in cui e` coinvolto Corrado Selmi, per il quale Roberto Auriti s'e` fatto prestanome. Nonostante gli amici tentino di salvarlo, viene arrestato: Selmi si suicida, scagionandolo, ma la madre Caterina ne muore di crepacuore; contemporaneamente Salvo manda Aurelio Costa a domare la rivolta della zolfatare, e, pur d'impedire il matrimonio di questi (da lei respinto in gioventu`) con Daniella Salvo, Nicoletta Capolino fugge con lui, ma vengono entrambi uccisi dalla folla imbestialita; Daniella quasi ne impazzisce, e a nulla vale il tentativo di darla all'affettuoso ed onesto Nini` (col cui matrimonio la famiglia spera di riparare i molti debiti): Daniella riprende a sorridere, ma si ostina a chiamare "Aurelio" il fidanzato.

Testimone di tutto e` il patetico Mortara, che va a Roma piangendo di commozione al pensiero di vedere la capitale d'Italia e vi scopre la corruzione dei governanti; tornato deluso e sconfortato nel suo angolo di ricordi in Sicilia, va a morire con le medaglie garibaldine sul petto a fianco dei soldati italiani che reprimono l'insurrezione popolare, ucciso proprio da quei soldati.

Lento ed impacciato, con qualche solitario spunto efficace (la pazzia di Daniella, la morte di Mortara, la pazzia cosciente del principe Ippolito, l'egoismo insensibile di Salvo), racconta una storia banale di personaggi banali. Infinitamente meno lucido dei "Vicere'", si salva soltanto quando recita Mortara.

"Si Gira" (1915)

synopsis forthcoming

"Uno Nessuno e Centomila" (1926) +

Vitangelo Moscarda scopre un giorno come l'immagine che lui ha di se' stesso sia diversa da quella che gli altri hanno di lui, come egli sia, contemporaneamente, uno, nessuno e centomila Moscarda. Meta del libro e` una speculazione su questo tema, mentre la restante parte e` il racconto del conseguente sgretolamento della personalita` di Moscarda, a cominciare dalla decisione di chiudere la banca paterna per non essere piu` un usuraio agli occhi degli altri sino alla miseria (in ospizio) ed al processo per tentata violenza ad un'amica della moglie. La prima parte si dilunga troppo su un tema banale, quasi adolescenziale, mentre la seconda e` del tutto immotivata ed improbabile.

"All'Uscita" (1916) [t]

synopsis forthcoming

"Cosi' e' se vi Pare" (1917) [t] +

synopsis forthcoming

"Il Giuoco delle Parti" (1918) [t] +

synopsis forthcoming

"Il Berretto a Sonagli" (1918) [t]

synopsis forthcoming

"Ma Non E` Una Cosa Seria" (1918) [t]

synopsis forthcoming

"Il Piacere dell'Onesta`" (1918) [t]

synopsis forthcoming

"Tutto per Bene" (1920) [t]

synopsis forthcoming

"Come Prima Meglio di Prima" (1920) [t]

synopsis forthcoming

"Sei personaggi" (1921) [t] ++

synopsis forthcoming

"Vestire gli Ignudi" (1922) [t] +

synopsis forthcoming

"Enrico IV" (1922) [t] ++

synopsis forthcoming

"La Vita che ti Diedi" (1924) [t]

synopsis forthcoming

"Ciascuno A Suo Modo" (1924) [t] +

synopsis forthcoming

"La Nuova Colonia" (1928) [t]

synopsis forthcoming

"Lazzaro" (1929) [t]

synopsis forthcoming

"Questa Sera si Recita a Soggetto" (1930) [t] +

synopsis forthcoming

"Come Tu Mi Vuoi" (1930) [t]

synopsis forthcoming

"I Giganti della Montagna" (1937) [t]

synopsis forthcoming


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