SOURCE: "Pirandello's Short Story 'La Rosa' as a Work of Art," translated by Giovanni R. Bussino, in Canadian Journal of Italian Studies, Vol. 12, Nos. 38-9, 1989, pp. 67-73.

Because of its significant human value, Pirandello's short story "La rosa" ("The Rose"), first published in La Lettura in November 1914, merits an aesthetic analysis.

For the sake of orientation I will summarize the plot. Lucietta, the twenty-year-old widow of Loffredi (a journalist who was murdered), lives alone with her two children and has to face the problem of supporting herself and them. By winning a competition, she succeeds in obtaining the position of telegraph operator in the small town of Pèola. In the drowsy village the attractive young woman becomes a stimulating element. From the very beginning Fausto Silvagni, the thirty-five-year-old town secretary, courts her. She accepts his invitation to the local club's annual ball. The ball provides the unfortunate woman with a happy and thrilling evening, which she enjoys in all innocence, while the young men of the town press around her with passionate interest. When the rose she is wearing in her hair falls to the floor, it is picked up and returned to her, and she is told to present the flower to a man of her choice. The erotically aroused men turn the situation into a cruel joke: the woman's gesture is supposed to signify a declaration of love. In order to get out of her predicament, she presents the flower to the town secretary, but the possibility of the two forming a lifetime bond is forever thwarted because of the man's pessimism.

The work portrays a crescendo of events that culminates in a dramatic decision concerning the lifetime destinies of the two protagonists. Both of these characters, having modest social occupations, hold such great human significance for the reader that he is compelled to use the word "tragic" in describing them. As is often the case in short stories, the artistic style unifies narration, description and dialogue. An analysis of the story's four parts should therefore show that the total structure contains exceptionally interesting qualities as well.

Part I introduces the situation, the setting and the two main characters, Signora Lucietta Nespi (the widowed wife of Loffredi), and Fausto Silvagni (the town secretary). Signora Nespi is sitting with her children on a slow-moving train bringing her to the place of her future employment. Description, narration and dialogue are used to create the ambience, the characters and the human situation.

Let it be said in advance that a heavy mood permeates the entire work. Already the very first sentence serves to vaguely prepare the mood for the negative outcome of the short story. Just as the slow little train arrives very late, so too will the protagonist utterly fail to attain her happiness in life. "Nel bujo fitto della sera invernale il trenino andava col passo di chi sa che tanto ormai non arriva più a tempo" ("In the dense darkness of the wintry night the little train traveled with the pace of one who knows that by now he will no longer arrive on time.")

As she travels to her place of employment, the woman is musing over her past in Genoa. She wants to be worthy of her former marriage with the respectable journalist who was murdered, but, since his death, she has experienced disillusionment. Now the pitiful locomotive in the night becomes a symbol both of her loneliness as well as of the miserable place of residence that awaits her. In the howling of the locomotive, she hears "the voice of her destiny," but this woman with her "small, bold nose" is a courageous soul.

Through the author's use of coincidence, the woman on the train meets the man who will affect her destiny, namely, the town secretary. In this, Pirandello employs the device of contrast. The woman's first impression of the man is negative. He has sad eyes and this automatically gives her the feeling that the world which she needs will always remain alien to her ("lontanissimo e ignoto"). This is another, even clearer hint of the negative end. And in conversation he reveals that he has a skeptical, pessimistic outlook on life; obviously he is a Pirandellian philosopher. The contrast between the two characters is indeed vast, and precisely for this reason the author's psychological acumen is all the greater in that, as the travelers converse, he allows an essential change of mood to take place in the man's opinion of the woman. Thus it happens that in discussing the murder of the widow's husband (a deed probably politically motivated) the town secretary feels he understands the woman well. He derives satisfaction from this and experiences a feeling of tender sympathy for the courageous widow.

The relationship between the two quickly takes a positive turn and the man opens up. He discusses the fact that the provincial town is plagued with boredom, which finds visible expression in the numerous dogs sleeping in the streets and in the squares. He also gives her some good news: the local club will soon be holding ball. At the end of the conversation, the man, who introduced himself as the town secretary, lets his "intense melancholy" show, and the locomotive greets the small train station of Pèola with a "mournful whistle."

In this fashion the story writer has introduced all the motifs of his work, except, of course, the one designated by the title as the most important. Viewed technically, the introduction is constructed with the use of contrasts, symbols and psychological insights. The contrast is extreme between the woman who shows courage despite her misfortune, and the dreary town represented by the middle-aged, pessimistic man. This contrast arouses in the reader a great liking for the woman and the secret wish that, despite all the difficulties, the two unfortunates will become a happy couple.

As I have pointed out, components of the environment are used as expressive symbols, but despite the many descriptions of the gloomy ambience, it is the psychological depiction of the characters that dominates, making these characters perfectly transparent. This is especially true in the case of young Lucietta. Here Pirandello repeatedly uses a striking stylistic device found in several of his other works. The first example of this device in "La rosa" is seen soon after the beginning of the story. Reflecting on her previous home in Genoa, the woman experiences a sense of disappointment expressed with the words "Che tradimento!" ("What a betrayal!"). First the narrator reveals what the woman is thinking about. This is immediately followed by the character's words, which are no longer part of the narration but simply what the woman is literally thinking. This constitutes a sudden leap on the author's part. He no longer keeps an objective distance but instead has jumped into the mind of the character he is describing. By becoming one with her, so to speak, he tells us with absolute certainty that what is being expressed is factual. In this way, Pirandello goes against his own psychological tenet, namely, that no individual can know any other, that we attribute only fictional personalities to people. But this anomaly can easily be discarded. No author is required to write creatively in accordance with his own theories. It is interesting to note that Pirandello's psychological belief is also at variance with the plot of "La rosa" in that the town secretary really understands the young woman and therefore gains a liking for her. I would like to define this stylistic device, which was especially valuable in the creation of this short narrative, as an identifying leap into the thoughts of the character being described by the narrator.

There are at least two more examples of this technique occurring in the work. 1) "I suoi due bimbi orfani, loro sí, poveri amorini, s'erano addormentati . . . " ("Her two orphan children, yes, they, poor little darlings, had fallen asleep.") Here the woman's sorrow regarding the fate of her children is expressed.

2) "Il sedile di fronte serbava l'impronta de' suoi piedini, che vi avevano trovato un comodo sostegno, prima che fosse rientrato a prender posto ce n'erano tante di vetture, nossignori!proprio lí, un omaccione su i trentacinque anni, barbuto, bruno in viso, ma con occhi chiari, verdastri: due occhi grandi, intenti e tristi." ("The seat in front retained the impression of her little feet, which had found a comfortable place of support there, before a man entered to find a place—there were so many coaches, but, no sir!—right there, a big fellow about thirty-five years old, bearded, dark-complexioned, with bright, greenish eyes: two large eyes, intense and sad.")

The interpolations in question (the italics are mine) are often followed by an exclamation point revealing that they are thoughts which aroused excitement. The latter example has yet another important and special quality. The woman thinks: "ce ne sono tante di vetture, nossignori!—proprio lí." (This means in effect: There are coaches with plenty of seats. The fellow does not have to sit right there and disturb me!) But the author employs the descriptive past tense "erano" ("were") and mixes the identification of his own "self with his objective narration. Whoever allows this psychological device to work on himself feels the author's intense participation and is affected by it because he is drawn into the identification. Through its repeated use, Pirandello gives the characters in his work a heightened emotional vivacity.

In the next section, what happens to the special qualities we have already found? Here the theme of the narration is the stimulating effect the young woman has on the provincial town, as well as the reciprocal effect the changed town has on her. She enjoys a great deal of respect not only because she is the widow of the murdered man widely discussed by the Italian press, but also and above all, because she is youthful and charming. There are several contrasts here. There are both young and old men who are excited by Lucietta's presence. There are also a number of ugly women who react against the mood of the town, which has changed because of the young beauty. The motif of the sleepy dogs lazing about, already introduced as the symbol of the boredom affecting the town, changes its meaning in that it becomes the symbolic symptom of the "aria nuova" ("new mood"). The dogs are kicked and stones are thrown at them to scare them away from their places of rest, and they are pitied by the ugly women who feel a sense of solidarity with them. On the street, the men straighten their collars, vests and ties to improve their appearance. The married men say to their wives, "Dear, why don't you fix your hair a little better?" The subtle humor of this motif scarcely needs to be mentioned.

The town secretary courts the telegraph operator by conversing discreetly with her. Psychologically, this woman is the most interesting character. The repercussions on her of the new mood she has generated are amply represented. Naturally, she notices the interest she has aroused in the townsmen and is quite taken by it; the various new circumstances "inebriarono in breve anche lei" ("soon intoxicated her too.") At the same time, the woman, who, as we know, is a widow with two children, is in a state of emotional helplessness. Everything she experiences, both internally and externally, is portrayed by the author by means of his psychological identification with her. This is a clever stylistic device; it makes us witness a change occurring in her character which is incomprehensible even to herself. One moment she is crying without knowing why; the next she is laughing, again without knowing why. This swing in moods underscores the fact that deep mental processes are incomprehensible to the rational mind. This Pirandello's "self', which emerges periodically in the work, acts as a psychologist who represents fact to the reader and serves simultaneously as both author and scientist.

I should mention here that the end of the second part of the short story presents the positive element of an insistently offered invitation to the local club's ball, which at first the woman offers no certainty of accepting.

Part III, with its psychological portrayal of the woman, is devoted to a new motif, the one already intimated by the title of the short story. While debating whether she should go to the ball, she spots a magnificent red rose in front of a window of her house. Since it has bloomed despite the season's cold, the psychological effect of this strange contrast turns it into a decisive symbol for her: "Vide vivo li in quella rosa il suo desiderio ardente di godere una notte almeno" ("She saw vividly there in that rose her ardent desire to enjoy at least one night.") This is a case of what psychologists call "escape". To be sure, she hopes to escape her mental distress by seeking a moment of happiness. All at once she overcomes the negativism of her inhibitions. "Sí, là! Con quella sola rosa tra i capelli sarebbe andata alla festa, e i suoi vent'anni, e la sua gioja vestita di nero . . ." ("Yes, there! She would go to the ball with that single rose in her hair, and with her twenty years and her joy—dressed in black . . .") She still dresses in black because, even though the traditional year of mourning has just ended, she feels very much like a widow. Here, too, artistic contrast is not absent. Moreover, in the sentence just quoted, the "identifying leap", that important stylistic technique, is used superbly.

The concluding fourth part, the night of the ball, also does not suffer from a lack of effective contrasts. There are both old and young men, dancers and spectators, as well as dignified ladies who are hurt by the effect the young lady is having on the men and who therefore leave the ball. There is the innocent enjoyment of the widow who keeps the bestial hunger of the men in check by her unassailable virtue. But above all there is the contrast between Lucietta and Fausto Silvagni, which is fundamental to the stories outcome. In the unfolding of the plot, especially in the fateful outcome, a very interesting psychological representation dominates. Such artistic richness calls for a step by step commentary.

The men, losing their heads in a mass psychosis, press around the woman, who arrives somewhat late. The reader may liken the "bestiality" of the erotically aroused men to the sleeping dogs. Although the narrator himself does not point this out, whoever reflects on this realizes that man is more dangerous than animals, and that civilized behavior hides this fact. In contrast, the twenty-year-old beauty, who is innocently swept away by the dancing at the ball, is all the more appealing. After such a grave tragedy, she deserves to enjoy life again. The town secretary does not dance but looks on pensively. He focuses his thoughts on the extremely negative experiences of his youth which have made him an isolated, inactive, pessimistic observer, and, at the same time, he thinks about Lucietta who, as he knows, is in need of help, just like himself. "Non era forse volata da suoi sogni lontani, questa cara folle fauna vestita di nero, con una rosa di fiamma tra i capelli?" ("Had not this crazy little sprite dressed in black, with a flaming red rose in her hair, flown out of his dreams of long ago?") In this way the narrator suggests an emotional connection between the "little sprite" and the secretary, which opens up for the reader the prospect of a lifetime bond. Thereby the rose, which up until this point was simply a symbol of the woman's zest for life, becomes such a symbol for the man as well.

The last part of the short story is the richest in psychology. Through the use of his innovative technique, the author allows us to look into the hearts and minds of the two protagonists. However, we are also made privy to the different experiences of the other men and women at the ball. This is apluralism of inner vision that contributes importantly to the powerful effect of the final episode.

Lucietta dances without a pause, tiring the men, and afterwards there comes the surprise ending in a concentrated dramatic form. The rose falls from the woman's hair, whereupon the elderly mayor picks it up, gives it back to her and orders her to present the flower to the man of her choice. Everybody believes that this should be a declaration of love; the sexually excited young men want the woman, who is aloof, to promise herself to one of them. This is suggested by the words "The choice of Paris!" (naturally, a female Paris), uttered by one of the men. But thus the rose, which from the beginning has been the symbol of the woman's zest for life (and which now could also symbolize the same for the man), acquires the additional function of serving as a symbol of the young men's extremely tactless joke. Lucietta, however, finds a solution. She will simply present the flower to one of the men who have only sat there and looked on the entire time. However, at that moment, she spots the town secretary and spontaneously hands him the flower, which she merely intends as an expression of her affection for him. The young men maliciously insist that her gesture is a declaration of love given the notorious courtship paid by the town secretary to the telegraph operator. In this way the rose becomes the symbol of a fateful decision for the two. The situation forces the man to quickly choose between his pessimism and his feelings of love. Although his dilemma is shown only in his turning pale, she immediately grasps the entire situation. Now, not only he but she too is in a state of emotional conflict. Pressured externally, she hastens to ask him whether he believes that the presentation of the rose can be a declaration of love. In this way she herself induces the man's negative answer, which springs from his pessimism. His act is an act of renunciation, the voluntary surrender of a desired love that would mean life's happiness for both of them. He gives her back the rose and asks her to throw it away. She immediately does this with complete awareness of the significance of her gesture. In effect, the poor woman transforms the symbol of her innocent zest for life (of a night's duration) into the symbol of the destruction of her life's happiness forever.

No doubt the mood of the short story's ending puts the Pirandellian philosopher in the wrong. A reader who thinks about it might wonder whether the final symbolic gesture must be totally decisive in its meaning. Might not the two, who are suited to one another, still find each other later on? Or might not the provincial town have another suitable man to offer the woman? But such considerations should not be made since they transcend the author's intentions.

I would like to conclude my analysis with the following observation: The aesthetic elements that have attracted my attention in this short story are wonderfully combined in the dramatic ending as a pluralism of contrasts, symbols and psychological depiction.