Summary
Highlights
The video marks the return of videos dedicated to "Maturità" (Italian high school exams), focusing on Luigi Pirandello's novel "Il fu Mattia Pascal." Published initially in 1904, this work signifies Pirandello's departure from realistic Verismo towards humorism, a concept later explored in his 1908 essay "L'umorismo." The novel, with its roots in Laurence Sterne's "Tristram Shandy," anticipates many of Pirandello's later themes, particularly the idea of an 'unfinished' or 'uncertain' character, reflected in the protagonist Mattia Pascal.
The title "Il fu Mattia Pascal" is deeply symbolic: 'Mattia' in Sicilian means 'madness,' aligning with the character's erratic behavior, and 'Pascal' refers to Blaise Pascal, whose philosophical quote—'I do not know who put me into the world, nor what the world is, nor what I am myself'—resonates with Mattia's existential ignorance and search for self.
The novel is structured into 18 titled chapters with a first-person narration. It begins with two prefaces: a narrative one dedicated to Alberto Cantoni, and a philosophical one. The narrative starts from the end, then proceeds chronologically. Mattia describes his situation as 'strange and different,' dictating that his manuscript should be read 50 years after his third and final death, having already 'died' twice before. The story is set in the library of Monsignor Boccamazza in Miragno, a fictional Ligurian town where Mattia is the assistant librarian. The library, filled with disorganized and dusty books, symbolizes the town's indifference to culture and knowledge.
Don Eligio Pellegrinotto encourages Mattia to write his memoirs. Mattia often exclaims, 'Cursed be Copernicus!' This refers to Copernicus's heliocentric theory, which displaced humanity from the center of the universe, causing a loss of certainty and showing that everything is relative. This philosophical shift deeply influences Mattia's perception of life's meaninglessness.
Mattia Pascal lives in Miragno with his mother and brother, Roberto. His wealthy father died when Mattia was four, leaving a fortune that was squandered by a dishonest administrator, Batta Malagna, nicknamed 'the mole.' Mattia's mother, a naive and overly protective woman, is easily manipulated by Malagna. Mattia and Roberto are portrayed as irresponsible idlers, never having gone to school and educated by an eccentric tutor, Pinzone. Roberto is handsome and pleasure-seeking, while Mattia is described with a 'placid' face, an 'unruly' eye, and a red beard.
Batta Malagna, after his first wife's death, marries Oliva Salvoni. Oliva becomes pregnant by Mattia, not Malagna, leading to chaos. Mattia tries to arrange a marriage between Pomino and Romilda Pescatore (Malagna's niece), but Romilda falls for Mattia, trapping him. He marries her, enduring a difficult relationship with his mother-in-law, Marianna Dondi. Mattia takes a job as a librarian. His twin daughters die tragically—one shortly after birth, the other at nearly a year old, on the same day and hour his mother dies. These losses devastate Mattia, driving him to despair.
Driven by grief and financial woes, Mattia flees to Monte Carlo. After winning a large sum at roulette, he learns from a newspaper that a drowned, unrecognizable body has been identified as Mattia Pascal, presumed a suicide due to financial ruin. Seeing this as an escape, Mattia decides to embrace a new identity. He invents the persona of Adriano Meis, claiming an Argentine birth and a life of travel with his grandfather. He shaves his beard, cuts his hair, and changes his appearance to match this new self.
Adriano Meis moves to Rome, renting a room from Anselmo Paleari, a sixty-year-old philosopher obsessed with death and the spiritual world. Paleari's daughter, Adriana, finds Mattia attractive. Paleari introduces his 'lanternino' philosophy, suggesting that each person carries a small lantern within, illuminating a limited circle of light and casting a 'fearful shadow' beyond it, which we perceive as real but is an illusion created by our own light. This metaphor emphasizes the subjective and illusory nature of reality.
During a séance at Paleari's house, Adriano is robbed of 12,000 lire by Terenzio Papiano, Adriana's brother-in-law, who seeks her inheritance. Adriano realizes he cannot report the theft because Adriano Meis does not legally exist. He tries to distance himself from Adriana to spare her pain and even feigns interest in another woman, Pepita. After a duel with a painter, Bernandez, Adriano realizes he has no legal standing and no defense. With no other option, he stages the suicide of Adriano Meis, leaving a note on a bridge, thus ending his second identity.
Mattia Pascal returns to Miragno, only to find that his wife, Romilda, has remarried Pomino and they have a child. His mother-in-law, Marianna Dondi, is still alive but shocked to see him. Realizing he no longer belongs, Mattia gives up his attempts to reclaim his former life. He goes to live with his aunt Scolastica and returns to his job at the library, occasionally visiting his own grave. When asked who he is, he replies, "I am the late Mattia Pascal," emphasizing his perpetual state of being 'ex-Mattia Pascal,' a man without a true identity.
The novel explores key Pirandellian themes: the contrast between 'life' (the fluid, changing self) and 'form' (the rigid social roles imposed on individuals, like the family), the role of fate and chance, the protagonist's 'inetto' (inept) nature, and the concept of 'the double' and identity crisis. The novel's circular structure, starting and ending with Mattia outside of conventional time, highlights his role as a humorous character. Mattia's journey reveals that one cannot live without a mask or identity, even if it is a construct. His ultimate realization is that the world is not serious, and his attempt to escape one mask only led him to another, demonstrating the impossibility of true freedom from societal forms.