Summary
Highlights
The video begins by introducing Luigi Pirandello's novel 'Uno, nessuno e centomila,' highlighting that it was started in 1910 but completed in 1926. It was first published as a serial in 'La Fiera Letteraria' and an earlier version, titled 'Considerazione di Vitangelo Moscarda,' appeared in 1915. The preface by Pirandello's son, Stefano Landi, hints at the novel's themes of identity and the tragedy of losing self-esteem. Pirandello's personal struggles, particularly his wife's mental illness, heavily influenced these themes, leading him to feel like a 'spirit without a face with a thousand faces.'
The novel is structured into eight books and 63 isolated chapters. Key chapters like 'Mia moglie e il mio naso' (My Wife and My Nose) and 'Il vostro naso' (Your Nose) introduce the 'nose' motif, inspired by Laurence Sterne's 'Tristram Shandy.' This motif highlights the protagonist's initial superficial understanding of himself. Vitangelo Moscarda's name itself is symbolic: 'Vitangelo' (angel of life) and 'Moscarda' (a short-lived fly).
In Book 1, Vitangelo Moscarda, a 28-year-old, looks in the mirror when his wife points out his crooked nose. This seemingly trivial comment shatters his self-perception, revealing that others see him differently. He realizes he is not 'one' but 'one hundred thousand' versions of himself in the eyes of others. This leads to an existential crisis, pushing him to try and see himself as an outsider would, free from the masks he unknowingly wears.
Book 2 reveals Vitangelo's life: he lives off the income from his usurer father's activities, managed by his subordinates. He initially believed his father was a great man, but realizing his father was a usurer, along with his identity crisis, shocks him further. His wife calls him 'Gengè,' an infantile nickname, representing one of the many 'masks' he wears for others, masking his 'aulic Vitangelo' self.
In Book 3, Moscarda begins acting eccentrically to dismantle the 'one hundred thousand' identities others have imposed on him. He aims to prove he is not who others believe him to be, rejecting even his surname, Moscarda. He also confronts his past perception of his family and father, realizing his father's true nature as a usurer, which explains the town's animosity towards his family.
Book 4 sees Vitangelo orchestrating an act of apparent madness. To reject the identity of a 'ruthless usurer,' he evicts a poor couple, Marco di Dio and his wife, tenants of his, only to gift them an apartment. This contradictory act bewilders everyone, confirming his reputation as 'crazy' but serving his goal of defying external perceptions. He asserts control over his subordinates, demonstrating his new autonomy.
In Book 5, Vitangelo becomes a challenger of bourgeois conventions. His wife, Dida, frustrated by his antics, leaves him. He admits he has ruined their relationship but persists in shedding his old identities. He tells his father-in-law that after liquidating the bank, he plans to study, but his father-in-law sees him as deranged. Book 7 brings Annarosa, Dida's friend, back into his life. During a visit to a monastery, Annarosa accidentally drops a revolver, and Vitangelo realizes an unexpected attraction to her. He learns from Annarosa that his relatives plan to have him declared insane to take control of his assets. He secures support from Monsignor Partanna by pledging donations to the poor.
Vitangelo and Annarosa have a profound conversation, where he tells her one cannot live in front of a mirror and should strive to never see oneself, highlighting the theme of self-perception versus reality. In Book 8, Annarosa, fearing for her life or possibly driven by her own desperation regarding Vitangelo's behavior, shoots him, but he survives. At the trial, she confesses, portraying him as a madman in a cap, clogs, and a blue smock. However, rather than seeking revenge, Vitangelo ultimately chooses to kill 'Vitangelo Moscarda,' the 'one hundred thousand' identities. He finds peace by donating his wealth to build an asylum for the poor (an 'ospizio di mendicità') where he lives, becoming 'no one'—free from fixed identity, embracing a pantheistic existence, and living in the present moment, one with nature.
Pirandello considered this novel his literary testament. The themes include the disintegration of self, masks, madness, the critique of social rules previously seen in 'Il fu Mattia Pascal,' humor, and panism (a sense of unity with the universe), which is a key element of decadent culture. The novel's style is a relentless internal monologue, often direct and interlocutory, engaging the reader with rhetorical questions, exclamations, and over 500 question marks. The informal language and conversational tone further emphasize the direct engagement with the reader, breaking conventional narrative structures.