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Chapter 1 - Sicily

from Part I - Places

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2024

Patricia Gaborik
Affiliation:
Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica ‘Silvio d'Amico’
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Summary

The chapter is divided into three parts – places, attachments, and fables – that highlight Pirandello’s multiple connections with the southern Italian island of Sicily. Emphasis is given to the myth of the author’s Greek birth in Caos in Porto Empedocle and to the importance of Palermo in his coming of age. The essay then explores how Pirandello’s mythologized treatment of motherhood – present in works such as Her Husband, The New Colony, and The Mountain Giants – reaches back to his deep affection for his own mother. However, the importance of Sicily for the writer can be seen in multiple elements of his work, especially in the early novels and dialect comedies notable for their transformation from the naturalism with which he began his writing career. Recovering the idea of Sicily’s Greek heritage, the final section reveals the innovative nature of Pirandello’s mythic view of the island, even while acknowledging that Pirandello thought in historical terms, too, having dedicated The Old and the Young to the story of the revolt of the Fasci Siciliani in 1893–1894.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Sicily
  • Edited by Patricia Gaborik, Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica ‘Silvio d'Amico’
  • Book: Pirandello in Context
  • Online publication: 14 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108339391.005
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  • Sicily
  • Edited by Patricia Gaborik, Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica ‘Silvio d'Amico’
  • Book: Pirandello in Context
  • Online publication: 14 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108339391.005
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Sicily
  • Edited by Patricia Gaborik, Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica ‘Silvio d'Amico’
  • Book: Pirandello in Context
  • Online publication: 14 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108339391.005
Available formats
×