| Contents |
Foreword by Luigi Pirandello -- Preface -- Introduction: Pirandello in the tradition of Italian letters ; Pirandello, man and artist ; Pirandello's philosophy of life -- Part One. In the wake of naturalism: Humble themes of Sicilian life: In a sanctuary, The other son, The patent, The jar, Limes of Sicily ; Painful mirth and tragedy make their entrance: At the exit, The vise, The duty of a physician, Liolà ; A humorist looks at virtue: Cecè, The imbecile, The man with a flower in his mouth, Man, beast, and virtue -- Part Two. The drama of being and seeming: The blinding effects of truth: Cap and bells ; Illusion and heroism: All for the best ; The tumult of life and the aloofness of concepts: Each in his own rôle ; The many faceted prism of truth: Right you are if you think you are ; Changing character of human opinions: Each in his own way ; The beauty of a lie: Naked ; Madness as the only refuge: Henry IV ; Dualism of personality: As you desire me ; In the realm of mystery: One does not know how -- Part Three. Social plays: The strange adventures of Lady Honesty: The pleasure of honesty ; Where the law cannot reach: Think it over, Giacomino ; Impossibility of a perfect human society: The new colony ; Resurrection and immortality: Lazarus -- Part Four. The drama of womanhood: The turmoil of the irrational: As well as before, better than before ; The form and substance of matrimony: It is only in jest ; The purifying force of motherhood: Either of one or of no one ; The power of passive resistance: Other people's point of view ; The loneliness of the lofty: The wives' friend ; Where the children are, there is the home: Mrs. Morli, one and two ; A mystic interpretation of parenthood: Grafting ; Only illusion can conquer death: The life that I gave you -- Part Five. Art and life: Art does but dwarf, a tragic life: Six characters in search of an author ; A play in the making: Tonight we improvise ; Life rebels against the fixity of art: Diana and Tuda ; Renunciation: She wanted to find herself ; The misery of fame: When one is somebody -- Conclusion -- Bibliography. |
