WAR - Luigi Pirandello

Introduction

Luigi Pirandello (28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was

an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest
contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in
Literature for "his almost magical power to turn psychological analysis into good
theatre." Pirandello's works include novels, hundreds of short stories, and about 40
plays, some of which are written in Sicilian. Pirandello's tragic farces are often
seen as forerunners of the Theatre of the Absurd.

The Theatre of the Absurd

The Theatre of the Absurd (French: théâtre de l'absurde [teɑtʁ(ə) də lapsyʁd]) is

a post–World War II designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction written by
a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1950s. It is also a term for
the style of theatre the plays represent. The plays focus largely on ideas
of existentialism and express what happens when human existence lacks meaning
or purpose and communication breaks down. The structure of the plays is typically
a round shape, with the finishing point the same as the starting point. Logical
construction and argument give way to irrational and illogical speech and to the
ultimate conclusion—silence.[1]

War" by Luigi Pirandello is a 1919 short story about the experience of war from
the perspective of those who have to live with the consequences of it.
 Set during World War I, the story tells of a group of people who are forced to
spend the night in a second-class railway carriage, stranded at a station in Fabriano,
Italy.

 One passengers is an evidently distressed woman. Her husband explains that they
are waiting for the safe return of their son, who is about to depart for the war.
 The man’s story does not prompt too much sympathy from the others, who tell of
their own loved ones taken away by the war. The passengers discuss the meaning
of the war in their lives.

SUMMARY

The plot of Luigi Pirandello's "War" occurs during World War I in Italy, a setting
of tremendous political and social upheaval. Although Italy emerged on the
"winning" side of the war, the victory came with significant personal costs; over
600,000 Italians, primarily young men, were dead by the war's conclusion.

This great personal sacrifice is the subject of "War," in this short story, the
suffering of parents is depicted with agonizing insight. Mothers and fathers travel
together aboard a train, and their feelings of loss weigh heavily on them. One
mother boards the train in a state of visible mourning; she looks like a "shapeless
bundle" as she is "hoisted" into the train, unable to bear the weight of the effort
herself.

As the passengers settle in for their journey, the woman's husband, "in deep
mourning," addresses the other five passengers by commenting on the "nasty
world" they find themselves in. He explains that the war has taken their only son
from them, an event they had not adequately braced themselves to endure. His
departure seems shockingly "sudden," and he comments that his wife is to be
"pitied" for enduring such a tragedy.

As her husband speaks, the woman begins "growling like a wild animal,"
convinced that their plight is no worse than any of the other parents' feelings of
loss. Indeed, the husband's comments generate a debate among the passengers
about whose suffering is hardest to endure.
One passenger suggests that his loss is harder; while the couple's son is only now
being sent to fight, his son has been fighting since "the first day of the war." He has
even been injured twice and sent back to the front lines each time after recovering.

Another passenger suggests his loss is more profound; he has two sons and three
nephews on the front lines of the war. Now a bit embarrassed by his comments, the
husband replies that even if this man loses one son, he can be comforted by his one
surviving son. This angers the other passenger, who explains that if a man has only
one son who dies, he can end his own life. A man with a surviving son cannot
escape his distress and must endure the grief of that loss with no hope of escaping
it.
This conversation angers another passenger, "panting" with an "inner violence of
an uncontrolled vitality." He questions whether parents have given life to their
children "for [their] own benefit." The man whose son has been at the front since
the beginning of the war replies that their children belong "to the Country."

The man calls this "bosh" and insists that when their children are born, they "take
[their parents' lives] with them…but they never belong to [their parents]." He
explains that young people are passionate about their country in the same way their
parents once were; over time, the love of country is replaced by an even deeper
love for one's children.

However, he insists that "somebody must go to defend" their country out of

"necessity," it is better to allow their sons to do so without tears and sadness. He
then shares that his son had sent him a message before dying, revealing that he was
satisfied to end his life "in the best way he could have wished."

The mother who had just sent her only son to the war is "amazed" and "stunned"
by this man's speech; this world where people "congratulate" a father who has just
lost his son in a war feels "unknown." In a state of shock, she asks the man whether
his son is "really dead."

This question creates a moment of deep introspection for the father. At this
moment, the father begins to grasp the finality of his son's life; he is "gone forever–
forever." As reality settles in, the father breaks into "harrowing, heart-rending,
uncontrollable sobs."

1. Is there any hint in the story that the fat man was not as sure of his
argument as he claims to be?
Quick answer:
I) The fat man is sure of his argument and he conveys that sense of certainty in his
argument. The other passengers are not so sure, with the bundled up woman being
the only one who speaks and asks a fatal question to which the fat man can do
nothing but implore "Let's change cars."
II) One of the reasons that Pirandello's story is so effective is that it rests upon the
fat man's certainty. He enters the car and commands the center of attention. He
gives a spirited discussion as to why he is glad his son chose the path he did.
There is little weakness in his argument. He delivers it with so much bluster and
so much zeal that it is something that cannot even be questioned. There is no
hesitation or reticence in what he is saying. His entry and his declaration are seen
as antidotes to the ambiguity that the other passengers are immersed in prior to his
entry. At the same time, Pirandello makes it clear that the certainty of the fat man
is precisely what compels the bundled up woman to speak. She does not say
anything. In fact, Pirandello describes her as "waking up." She does this because
she senses the fat man's certainty and his sense of absolutist faith in what he is
saying and in what he believes about his child's death. She finds encouragement
from him because of his own sense of confidence. This would clearly suggest that
the fat man was certain of what he was saying. He is only disarmed when the
woman speaks, asking her fatal question that reveals his own certainty as nothing
more than illusion.

2. What does the red-faced passenger share about his personal experience in
"War"?

Quick answer:
In the short story "War" by Luigi Pirandello, the red-faced man in the train
compartment first shares the opinion that parents should not sorrow for their sons
who have gone off to war, because they go away happy to serve their country.
However, he then shares the personal experience of having lost his son in the war,
and he breaks down and weeps in grief.

3. How is Luigi Pirandello judging patriotism in "War"?

Quick answer:
I) The story is a polemic that takes place among passengers on a train. The thin
man and his large wife, who are upset over their son's impending assignment to the
front, are chastised by the other passengers for not being tough enough to handle
the possibility of their son becoming a casualty. All the other passengers also have
sons who have fought in the war. They offer all sorts of reasons to rationalize their
resignation at the fate of their sons; one says that since he has two sons at the front
his suffering is proportionally worse; another says that young men crave glory, and
if they die, they die "inflamed and happy," and are better off for dying young and
not knowing the hard side of life.

4. How is Luigi Pirandello judging patriotism in "War"?

The story is a polemic that takes place among passengers on a train. The thin man
and his large wife, who are upset over their son's impending assignment to the
front, are chastised by the other passengers for not being tough enough to handle
the possibility of their son becoming a casualty. All the other passengers also have
sons who have fought in the war. They offer all sorts of reasons to rationalize their
resignation at the fate of their sons; one says that since he has two sons at the front
his suffering is proportionally worse; another says that young men crave glory, and
if they die, they die "inflamed and happy," and are better off for dying young and
not knowing the hard side of life.