Unit 3 Bereavement and Grief
Preparatory Work
(1) According to Britannica, Luigi Pirandello was winner of the 1934 Nobel Prize for Literature. With his invention of the “theatre within the theatre” in the play Seipersonaggi in cercad’autore (1921; Six Characters in Search of an Author), he became an important innovator in modern drama. Influenced by his catastrophic personal experiences, he developed a literary style characterized by “the exploration of the tightly closed world of the forever changeable human personality” (Britannica). “War” reflects this style of psychological realism, for instead of depicting external circumstances of the Great War, it chooses to underline the cruelty of war from the perspective of the soldiers’ anxious, grieving parents.
(2) The story was set in a train carriage at dawn. The war referred to in the story is most probably World War I, for during this war the author himself was a psychologically tormented father, both of whose sons were captured as prisoners of war. The World War I was an international conflict that resulted from clashes of interest among the world’s economic great powers assembled in two opposin
g alliances, the Allies (including the United Kingdom/British Empire, France and the Russian Empire) versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Italy was a member of the Triple Alliance alongside Germany and Austria-Hungary, though it did not join the Central Powers (Willmott 15). It is generally believed by historians that World War I was “virtually unprecedented in the slaughter, carnage, and des truction it caused” (Britannica). It led to the fall of four great imperial dynasties (Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey), resulted in the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, and, in its destabilization of European society, laid the groundwork for World War II.
(3) Common symptoms of grief caused by bereavement include wistfulness, lethargy, hysteria, depression and so forth. According to the psychologist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, people who have lost someone close usually go through five emotional stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. (4) Luigi /luˈidʒi/
Perandello/ˌpɪrənˈdɛloʊ; Italian ˌpi rɑnˈdɛllɔ/
beat crusadersFabriano/Italian ˌfabriˈaˌno/
Sulmona /Italian sulˈmona/
Critical Reading
I. Understanding the text
1.
(1) Their argument was about what attitude parents should take towards their
children going to war and killed in action. Of the passengers, the fat man appeared to have the strongest argument, who suggested that parents should
(7) All these four definitions are common denotations of the word patriotism,
which is a controversial notion. It is morally valuable, for it can arouse noble sentiments of heroism within people and unite them together as a whole nation. But whether it should be mandatory is disputable, for it may be pushed to an extreme and require people to sacrifice their personal interest for the “greater good” that might sometimes be questionable.
(8) One possible version:
January 1st, 1918 Dear Father,
I wish you and Mother a happy new year. Perhaps you’re in no mood for celebrations for it has been almost three years since we celebrated the new year together as a family. I am in no festive mood either. The campsite here is cold and dreary, and is permeated with an atmosphere of mourning. I myself was lucky enough to survive the horrible battle in Caporetto, but hundreds of thousands of my comrades lost their lives in it. This is a nightmarish new year for me.
Several years ago, I thought it a glorious thing to go to war in defense of our country. I would become a national hero if I fought valiantly. And now, I’ve come to realize that war is seldom about heroism; it is n
othing but a massacre of innocent lives. I knew little about the enemies we killed, but I did know that some time before they had been allies with us. It is most likely that they, just like us, are innocent, naïve young people with an enthusiasm for heroic action.
I used to say it would be a bliss to lay down my life for the Country. I still think so, but for a different reason. I never know when exactly I will get killed, but to be killed instantly is so much better than to take a bullet that cripples me for life, to get my face burnt beyond recognition, or to suffer any other kind of serious wounds with lifelong aftermaths. Such disasters happen to my comrades every single day, and I can only pray that they do not fall upon me. So, if I get killed someday, I will die satisfied at having ended my life in the best way I could wish.
Remember me to all our friends back home, and do not wear mourning if I can never come back again.
Your loving son
Language Enhancement
5.
(1) Pirandello employs the linear structure in the story, and develops the plot
mostly through conversation. He includes so much conversation probably because he intends to “show more than tell”, to have the characters voice their own opinions instead of speaking for them himself. In this way, he can present a variety of clashing views and characterize each individual more effectively. The author’s narrative style can be characterized as internal focalization that places the woman at the center of consciousness. He describes the woman’s fe elings and thoughts in great detail, while characterizing other passengers through external depictions.