The Story of Suicide---Selected Short Stories by Pirandello

Author: Xiamen Six People
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-01-01
Features: This book is written by the famous Italian playwright and novelist Luigi Pirandello in the 1920s of this century. It tells stories of suicide where no one can live again. Each story seems to have no end, and behind it, there are always eyes watching everything unfold, and a heart pounding intensely. After ending their lives, each protagonist seems to still be alive, even revealing a triumphant smile. This makes readers deeply reflect on suicide. Pirandello says in the novel, "When the god of time strikes every face of hope, telling you that nothing can be done, continuing to knock is useless. Better to turn around and walk away." It is fully understandable how Pirandello perceives death. To overcome the strong instinct of survival, to achieve a passionate human struggle against death in an imperfect world, is extremely difficult for any living being. It is not the kind of defiant act of "a man of integrity drowning in a ditch," but rather a resistance to the absurd world that only self-awareness can achieve through death. This resistance is a self-choice after careful reflection on life and death. Choosing life or choosing death merely means choosing which ideal to pursue, and any moral judgment is clumsy. This is also a form of human independence and expression.
This book selects 21 short stories from Pirandello's famous short story collection A Year of Stories. Suicide is a manifestation of people's love and hatred for life. In his works, suicide becomes a self-defense weapon, a tragic means of challenging fate, the last resort of the defeated, and a way to escape a more painful reality than death. It should be seen as a personal victory. Therefore, the reasons and methods he depicts for suicide are diverse: some do it to escape debt and bankruptcy, some due to mental breakdown; some to protest social injustice, some unable to bear loneliness; some for love, some for hatred. The suicide scenes take place indoors, outdoors, or even in public, but all within a relatively reasonable setting. The suicide victims range from young to old, rich to poor. They choose various methods: shooting, cutting veins, jumping from buildings, hanging, poisoning, and throwing themselves into the sea. Through these actions, Pirandello not only expresses his philosophical thoughts and psychological reasons but also captures the social maladies of the turn of the century.
Although Pirandello's works are filled with the atmosphere of suicide, the author remains full of sympathy when faced with the misfortunes of these individuals. When dealing with these characters inevitably walking the path of suicide, he often adds comedic elements and ironic atmospheres to their actions, ensuring that readers do not feel psychological oppression or sadness after finishing the work.