The Castle of Crossed Destinies (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Italo Calvino
- First Published: 1969
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Fantasy
- Time of Work: The mythic past
- Setting: A castle and a tavern
- Genres: Long fiction, Fantasy
- Subjects: Restaurants, bars, taverns, or pubs, Storytelling, Faustian bargains, Castles, Devils or demons, Knights or knighthood, Alchemy, Tarot
- Locales: Mythical lands
Characters Discussed
The first narrator, a traveler (perhaps a knight) who comes upon the castle in the woods and joins the guests, who recount their tales through the medium of tarot cards. Weary from many recent trials and combats, the narrator feels unstable and confused in his perceptions. His confusion contributes, as the story unfolds, to his uncertainty about reading the various stories accurately. The uncertainty of reconstructing stories from emblematic representations, a dominant theme of the book, originates in this state of mind of the narrator.
The...
[The entire page is 758 words long]
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