A Day
Uploaded by
ScribdTranslationsA Day
Uploaded by
ScribdTranslationsA day
by Luigi Pirandello
Throughout his life, Pirandello writes short stories. The first book of tales, Loves Without Loves, is published.
In 1894, the last story, posthumously A Day, in 1937, a few months after his death.
Ease and speed of writing characterize his short story production.
In 1922, Pirandello decided to consolidate all his vast narrative heritage into a
unique great container: the Tales for a Year. Pirandello clarifies the title: A tale per
day, for a whole year, without any of the days, months, or seasons drawing its
quality.
The plots are becoming increasingly experimental and, among the contradictions that remain open, it dominates.
the absurd, up to the story A Day, in which a man finds himself, expelled from a train in a place
unknown, to live within a day his entire existence.
The last stories are full of silence.
Summary:
In this novella, Pirandello narrates an entire life of a man in a single day, at the dawn of a
new day, he finds himself torn from sleep and thrown off a train at a station that does not
he recognizes. The protagonist does not remember why he took the train and why he is there, but
He doesn't even know what he does in life and who he is, and is therefore in a state of discomfort and confusion.
He doesn't remember who he is, but the people he crosses greet him. However, he doesn't dare to ask.
explanations to avoid astonishment.
In the pocket of his suit, he finds a photograph of a young woman, whom he supposes to be her.
girlfriend, and a document that goes to exchange currency at a bank that is indicated to him
from the innkeeper of the trattoria where he goes for lunch.
He then returns to the inn, and when he comes out again, he finds a car and a driver waiting for him.
the door to what should be his home, but which he just does not recognize. In bed, he finds to
he is greeted by the girl in the photo and falls asleep with her. However, when he wakes up in the morning, she...
it's no longer there.
Looking in the mirror, the man sees himself much aged. Meanwhile, he is reached by those.
what his children should be. He is surprised to have them and assumes they were born the day before,
when he was still young. They make him lie down because he needs to take care of himself and at that moment
his grandchildren also make an appearance while his children start to
aging under her eyes, with a few silver strands appearing among their hair.
The protagonist thinks it is a joke, a joke in a dream.
Analysis/comment:
The novella is woven with a sense of anguish and unease as the protagonist is
lost and scared by the fact of not knowing who he is and not remembering anything about the world he has
around.
One of the main themes is the inexorable passage of time, which renders existence ephemeral.
of man.
