Pokojni Mattia Pascal
Luigi Pirandello's novel The Late Matthias Pascal (1904), a masterpiece of Italian literature, explores themes of identity, freedom, and social conventions through a tragic yet ironic story of a man trying to escape his life.
Matija Pascal, the main character, leads an unhappy life in the small town of Miragno. He works as a librarian, is married to Romilda, with whom he has an unhappy marriage, and is suffocated by financial burdens and family problems. When he accidentally learns that he has been declared dead due to an administrative error (after a body believed to be his is found), Matija sees an opportunity for a new beginning. Leaving the past behind, he takes on the identity of Adriano Meis and begins wandering around Italy and Monte Carlo.
At first, he enjoys his freedom, but soon realizes that without a legal identity he cannot fully live – he cannot get a job, get married or own property. Loneliness and the inability to create authentic relationships, especially after his love for Adriano Paleari, lead him to disappointment. In the end, Matija returns to Miragno, where he accepts his old life, but as a "deceased" – he lives on the margins, aware of the absurdity of existence.
Written in the spirit of modernism, the novel reflects Pirandello's philosophy of the fluidity of identity and the illusory nature of reality. Pirandello's humor and philosophical depth make the novel a universal story about the human search for freedom and the conflict between the individual and society.
Two copies are available
Copy number 2
- Slight damage to the dust jacket
