Studia Polensia, Vol. 7 No. 1, 2018.
Professional paper
https://doi.org/10.32728/studpol/2018.07.01.02
BETWEEN LITERATURE AND TRUTH: LANDOLFI’S IMAGINATION IN THE SHORT NOVEL RACCONTO D’AUTUNNO
Eva Mesárová
; University ofi Matej Bel, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
Abstract
Tommaso Landolfi (1908-1979), a representative writer of both European
and strongly Italian culture, fits into the category of twentieth century
fiction, the so-called linguistic fiction. In 1947 he wrote the short novel
Autumn Story, which commemorates the destruction of the ancient abbey
of Monte Cassino. It used to be the dearest place of the author’s childhood,
including the old family estate, which he perceived (as he mentions in the
novel), as a real desecration. It is a novel full of metaphorical meanings,
ranging from war as a metaphor for human cruel indiscretion, to the house
itself, as an old aristocratic residence visited by the main characters. In
the light of some biographical data, the contribution attempts to analyze
this tragic yet mythical dimension of the pain Landolfi experienced in
relation with the beloved house, forcibly destroyed by escaping soldiers.
The war, in fact, desecrated the ancient aristocratic house in Pico, where
almost all the works of the writer’s first period were created and which
represented for him a certain protective shell. The study primarily focuses
on the perception of some war experiences within the Italian culture of the
time (the bombing and other war events in the area of Ciociaria in 1943).
Keywords
Italian culture; Landolfi; imagination; house;
Hrčak ID:
216326
URI
Publication date:
29.1.2019.
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