CONCEPT OF SELF IN LUIGI PIRANDELLO A Psychoanalytic Study of Two Heroes

Submitted By Madiha Zulfiqar

Supervised By Assistant Professor Mirza Khurram Naseem Baig

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of

Master of Philosophy English Literature Session (2012-2014)

Table of Contents

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………1

Theoretical Background………………………………………………………………………9

Literature Review…………………………………………………………………………….14

Chapter 1: Psychoanalytic Study of Mattia Pascal…………………………………………27

1.1. Trauma…………………………………………………………………………….28

1.2. Otherness………………………………………………………………………….30

1.3. Complexes………………………………………………………………………...34

1.4. Illusion and Reality………………………………………………………………..36

1.5. Identity Conflict………………………………………………………………….39

1.6. Fear……………………………………………………………………………….40

1.7. Low Self Esteem………………………………………………………………….42

1.8. Communiqué Collapse……………………………………………………………43

1.9. Homelessness……………………………………………………………………..45

Chapter 2: Psychoanalytic Study of Vitangelo Moscarda……………………………...... 47

2.1. Trauma……………………………………………………………………………48

2.2. Otherness…………………………………………………………………………51

2.3. Instable sense of self……………………………………………………………..52

2.4. Complexes………………………………………………………………………..55

2.5. Fear……………………………………………………………………………….58

2.6. Illusion and reality………………………………………………………………..60

2.7. Identity Construction…………………………………………………………….63 2.8. Low self-esteem………………………………………………………………….64

2.9. Communique collapse…………………………………………………………....66

2.10. Homelessness…………………………………………………………………….68

Chapter 3: Comparison and contrast between Mattia Pascal and Vitangelo Moscarda.70

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………84

Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………….....86

Abstract

Popular for giving an appreciable shape to uneven nature of self and defining contribution of certain human behaviors in making a person, Pirandello stands apart the crowd. For him, self gains an undeniably significant position in the construction of personality. There are effects of behavior on one’s self and vice versa. However, generally assumed to be one with the identity of a person, the self is not bound to time or place. According to Pirandello it changes and keeps on changing and in doing so it involves the so called dissolution of the ego.

This dissertation, therefore initially claims that, Pirandello attempts to put forward his concept of transitory self by revealing the artifice of human existence and the resulting sickness, also by theorizing that the individuality, identity and normality are mere false structures.

Therefore, it proceeds to analyze and compare Pirandello’s major characters, illustrating the themes and philosophical ideas that distinctly converge and echo throughout both of the selected narratives. The following work covers two of major characters; Mattia Pascal and Vitangelo

Moscarda, from Pirandello’s novels Late Mattia Pascal (1904) and One, No One and One

Hundred Thousand (1924), as two representatives of his notion of disintegrated self. These two characters therefore suffer through a journey from unawareness to awareness about self. Both of them live the life of an-other person to realize the essence of their own unified self, however, their strategies do not have a similar motive for hiding under the guise of other. Psychoanalytic theories presented by Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Jacques Lacan and Alfred Adler are taken under consideration and applied as determinants of the direction of this study. Then, there is a further segmentation of the analysis through studying the features like trauma, otherness, fears, complexes, identity conflicts, illusion and reality, communiqué collapse and homelessness in both the pieces of literature. Furthermore, the methodology adopted for conducting this analytic study is described in detail in Theoretical Background section and it reflects all the theories and theorists selected and applied to assist and validate the study in psychoanalytic dimension.

The critical study also covers positive and sarcastic criticism on Pirandello determining that he eventually undermines all moral systems, all attempts to deal systematically with human life, and, of course, all individual responsibility. Pirandello's conception of self or, to be more precise, is liable to more than one interpretation, i.e. it may be interpreted as existential as well as spiritual. However, according to Pirandello in both ways, the real essence of being is in becoming No One. 1

Introduction

Self and self-consciousness has always been a favorite with the literary personalities since the riddle of self goes as deep as anything when delved into. A number of writers, thinkers and philosophers have aspired to solve the riddle and bring answer to all the questions arising in speculative minds. Luigi Pirandello (1867-1936) struggle all his life to present an essentially satisfying answer to the queries about self. His main conjecture is to present self functioning behind the existence of all human endeavors and personalities along with all the choices he makes. However, he also worked for fetching an understanding of human behavior and certain with respect to self. He opines the view that self is not an everlasting entity but an ever consuming and regenerating moment by moment.

Luigi Pirandello (1867-1936), an Italian playwright, a novelist, and a short-story writer, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1934 for his distinguished and unique works enriched with highly individual themes. Educated at University of Rome and University of

Bonn, Germany, this genius owned and ran a sulpher mine earlier in his life and performed as a teacher after mines were destructed. Therefore, Pirandello started his career as a writer by producing translations to manuscripts. Since he spent a time span of seventeen years with a trauma stricken and mentally retarded wife under one roof, Pirandello became obsessed with the notion of tragedy, illusion, madness and isolation. As a result these issues further got emphasizing and recurring expression through his later works, whereas, his earlier works were majorly the products of naturalistic fiction. A great deal of identifiable difference between the content of his very first novel and that of his last, explicitly suggested the maturity that he achieved on the way of his writing career. Furthermore, apart from his popular works as novels, plays, short stories and essays, he earned his popularity and distinction by proposing renovating principles for the theatre. These principles, however, 2 became the central theme of his major literary works like his play Six Characters in Search of an Author 1924; and through this he became an important reformer in modern drama.

Indisputably unique and eminent Italian writer Pirandello owed lion‘s share of his popularity as a versatile author to his plays, essays, stories and novels that usually followed the trend of questions, contradictions, and intrusion upon one another. Adopting dramatic form for his works, he used the technique of putting spokesperson, that is to say he used to express his peculiar views about uncertainties of life and relevant issues through the tongue of dramatic characters. Moreover, Pirandello was one of those people who were considered responsible for a revolution in the concept of theatre; the mode of presentation of actors and stage, dialogues and performances to bring a philosophical account of theatre and its contents as well. However through his preferred the dramatic form, over other genres because he regarded drama as the only flexible genre among all.

Furthermore Pirandello‘s fondness of psychology acquired refinement and maturity by his readings of number of works by remarkable psychologists and psychoanalysts, therefore traces of its penetrated influence were always evident from almost all of his works.

However, the Theory of the subconscious personality usually glimpsed through backdrops of

Pirandello‘s works. Therefore, when the two roles; Pirandello as novelist and Pirandello as dramatist were mingled together, it established a far-reaching fusion that created the dramatic-fiction form: a product that is cohesive of two realms, one narrative, and the other dramatic. This amalgamation of genres allowed his writings to be undertaken from the perspectives of both imaginary and factual. Moreover, the psychological themes adopted by

Pirandello particularly found their most complete expression in Late Mattia Pascal (1904),

Shoot (1916), Right You Are If You Think You Are (1918), Naked Masks (1918), Six

Characters in Search of an Author (1921), To Clothe the Naked (1923) and One, No One and

One Hundred Thousand (1924). 3

Thereupon, a brief review of Pirandello‘s contributions to Italian and English literature as a playwright, a novelist, a short-story writer and as an essayist assisted to form out a comprehensible perception of his life and works. As far as the overall impact of his plays is concerned it always appeared as contradicting, questioning and analytical in nature because instead of depending on actions his plays proceeded with depicting the far reaching philosophies. Therefore, Pirandello's plays in most part, were written as philosophical speculations on the conflicts that he preferred to put as themes of his works; conflict of illusion and reality, of an always changing human personality, shift of identities and of impossibility of communication. Since he aimed at exploring the art of masking and unmasking as central anchor of his writings, he published his collected plays under the title

―Naked Masks‖, an illustration of his philosophical beliefs and somewhat pessimistic views about the phenomenon of wearing and tearing the masks off.

Six Characters in Search of an Author (1921), one of the most popular plays in his whole career, emerged as an investigation into the problem of presentation and appearance, and inspired the play within play technique. This identity-play dealt with the relative truth of the characters into the temporariness of the stage and actors. The story however, was kept secondary to the theme of the play; the rush of art into real life, whereas the plot of the play revolved around the principles of theatre intended to be introduced by Pirandello to be followed by the playwrights of the age. Whereas, the second play Each in His Own Way

(1924) appeared even more clearly with uncommon but most Pirandellian themes and following the traditional form. In addition, there were also works that could be categorized as one-act plays targeting the immediate and neighboring population of the time since they drew on the most familiar Sicilian setting and belonged primarily to regional issues; some of them were even written in Sicilian dialect for apt expression. 4

Equally important majority of Pirandello's later and mature production of plays, however, clearly marked as a manifestation of recurring confrontation of mask in its different aspects. Pirandello drew the mask in two suggestive situations for his characters, either a self-imposed or society-imposed, whereas, the mask could be either life providing or life inhibiting, corresponding to the particular situation of the character. In addition his plays

Naked (1923) and Henry IV (1924) dealt with the notion of mask also whereas the other plays were more directly concerned with the conflict of reality and illusion.

Despite of Pirandello's undoubted significance as a trendsetter in the field of drama there could be found conformity to the tradition in his initial novels. Therefore his first novel

The Outcast (1901) and the short novel The Turn (1902) followed the general realist tradition prevailing and accepted of novel at that time. The Late Mattia Pascal (1904) got the privilege of being the first popular novel that carried the glimpses of Pirandello's later dramatic approach of writing. Likewise rest of his works, the theme of the novel was innately associated with Pirandello's proposed disguise used for realizing the distinction between reality and illusion. The hero of the narrative, Mattia Pascal, went through trials to free himself from burden of relations and responsibilities by wearing a mask of another person‘s identity but failed to get this liberation and realizing the importance of truth he suffered the ensuing consequences. As far as I vecchi e i giovani (1913; The Young and the Old) was concerned, it came forth as a historical novel describing the events occurred in Italy between

1892 and 1894. Whereas, Pirandello's last novel One, No One and One Hundred Thousand

(1924), was a compiled series of in depth observations on the plurality of personality and shifts of multiple facades of self.

5

Then, undertaking Pirandello as a short-story writer, it is noteworthy that Pirandello indulged himself in the production of 365 stories a year and published these under one title.

However, the last collection of his short stories contained only about 232 stories that were written during 1922 to1937. Four tales (1939) is another anthology of short stories translated into English language as well. ―A Character in Distress‖, ―The Beauty and The Beast‖,

―Sicilian Honor‖, ―Mother‖, ―Bitter Waters‖, ―War‖, ―Mother-In-law‖, ―The Haunted

House‖, ―The Husband‘s Revenge‖ and ―A Cat, A Finch and a Star‖ are the stories with motif of mask and identity translated into English in 1939, and in other languages because of the fame they gained after the death of the author. Therefore it was also foreseeable that

Pirandello's short stories remained as the most resilient part of his work that provided easy access to understand author and his inclinations. His short stories however contained a mass of subjects and often developed themes and plots that he usually explored later in his novels or plays. Furthermore, as long Pirandello as an essayist was observed his essays stood as a combination of diverse explorations of problem of artistic creation, and argue about esthetic theory. However there was also found a rejection of other theories of esthetics as he established one his own. A very popular and strong essay The Humor (1908) launched his own concept of humor quite unfamiliar to the authors of his age.

Thereupon, having reviewed Pirandello‘s works it would not be unjust to assume that he was a kind of man who keenly observed the damage brought by the conflict of illusions and the remorseless power of unreality. Pirandello's proficiency in technique of presentation of human truths begot skepticism as its sheer companion. In Pirandellian world, however, a sense of certain kind of detachment toward human flaws was also recognized. Therefore this experience of detachment can be seen recurrently described in terms of disillusionment, dissatisfaction, and scornfulness of human actions. Besides, Pirandello portrayed life as a random platform where monstrously masked characters come and play the scripts completely 6 alien to them. However, this concept suggested that the performers remain unacquainted to the noiseless calamity till some extremely fierce agony tears off the mask and exposes their real faces to themselves and to the world. It seems this view of life as a haphazard tragedy occurred to him through a unique insight which determined the direction of his writings. On the other hand, he was attributed to give different representations to the comparably same concerns, the same ideas, and same calamities of the characters in almost all of his works for instance The Late Mattia Pascal and One, No-One and a Hundred Thousand.

Furthermore, his works hint that Pirandello made it distinguishably clear when a protagonist was living in complete conformity to the social norms and expectations, while playing unfair to one‘s own self. Similarly he also inquired into the reality of the roles people played or activities they were involved in when society perceived through their appearances.

Therefore, it was regarded essentially as one of Pirandello‘s unique features that he understood, and also made others understand that how role-playing detaches an individual from a society and alienates it even from its own persona. However, he revealed these ideas through the process of self experimentation of his characters, during which he usually extracted an individual from the strings of society, with all possible existences of selfhood, and put it in sheer contrast to social integration. In this way he gave birth to the concept of complete social negation in the favor of one‘s real identity. Thus, Pirandello created certain kinds of characters who serve as models for establishing and analyzing the relation between an individual and the conflict between identity and selfhood.

Moreover, the matters that Pirandello treated as his subjects of major concern are frequently social and ethical problems; the conflict between identity and the social structure with its inflexible boundaries of morality and decency. On the other hand, more dominantly,

Pirandello's themes used to oscillate between the conflicting ideas of masking and unmasking, for instance in Henry IV and Late Mattia Pascal, he explored the theme through 7 all possible angles. Hence mask was a persistent and prevailing theme, functioning as a motif, as a symbol and a uniting force between characters and themes. Moreover, espoused with mask, theme of search for identity and its construction further enriched Pirandellian productions. Besides, more or less significantly another theme that was found in his works was the disgust and fear of materialism, which mechanized human life. Therefore, these thematic concerns attained accomplishment through strong characterization in the first place and with the help of content on the second. Whatsoever the theme may be, an undeniable connection between the characters and themes was always a cherished feature of this Sicilian genius. On the whole, all these issues got fair expression from Pirandello‘s characters having portrayed as individuals tangled in complications of logic or absurd and which eventually terminate either in victory or defeat to support his assumptions anyway.

Besides, the element of influence on Pirandello could not be neglected since it contains very significant role in making the productions of any author as they are. However, roaming through his major writings, equally important as any other quality of his works, recurring madness appeared as a predominant feature. This recurring madness, though connected with mask under surface, seemed to link back its origin to Shakespearian studies of

Pirandello. Whereas, the similarity between Pirandello‘s play Enrico IV (1921) and

Shakespeare‘s Hamlet (1603) was obvious because both of the works brought out the complexity of real and feigned madness. Furthermore, one of his anthologies of short stories,

Tales of Madness (1984) named after the abundance of mad characters in his stories exquisitely exhibited his preoccupation with madness. However, apart from Shakespearean readings this recurring madness traced back its links to his married life. The biographical study of Pirandello‘s fiction elaborated another reason as his traumatic experience of the mental sickness of his wife. Whatsoever, madness of his characters also offered glimpses into the territory that lies beyond our normal state of consciousness. Therefore, with each of his 8 mad characters, has been identified, an overwhelming deep compassion with which they were sketched though they were particularly portrayed as disillusioned victims of society, destiny, or their own self-deceptions.

However, apart from classic readings, Pirandello‘s obsession with psychology also affected his creations in a particular manner. Psychology therefore gave a peculiar aroma to his works and could be seen immersed in the characters, themes and backgrounds of his works correspondingly. Therefore, Pirandello‘s works often borrowed psychological grounds from the theories of Alfred Binet (Alterations of Personality 1892), for sketching his complicated protagonists. On the other hand, this theory made his works sound psychological writer of whose works entailed personality disorders and dealt with the fragmentation of self.

Again, Pirandello‘s tactic to achieve the abstract art of characterization was by emphasizing the character as a multi-sector specimen. He drew artistic lines to distinguish between, and to define, certain segments that were considered fundamental for the formulations of individual; psychological, moral and social aspects. Pirandello‘s characters, however, cautiously or an unconsciously chose to make a fascinating illusion their reality, for certain reasons. Therefore, in their obsession with truth and illusion, and explorations of the link between reality and appearance, and their consequential inability to discriminate between these two sides is where Pirandello laid grounds for his fiction to grow. Hence, Pirandello‘s preoccupation with real and illusory aspects of self found its ultimate expression in the concept of the mask, identity, other, madness and illusion. In addition, characters in

Pirandello‘s works in general seemed to forge into a protest against society. The strategies of his characters to render open the discontent and alienation however varied in range and kind.

Whereas, these were implemented either through harmonizing the activities of individual with the social accepted role, that is to say adopting the role and hiding oneself under mask of it, or by rejecting that role and mask to bring the rebel out. In the later strategy the protest, 9 nonetheless got revealed through psychosis or madness, while it seemed self-destroying to the outsiders, this strategy conversely brought the individual to the destination of self- reflection and self-realizations. Thus, these tormented characters were possibly the best constructs that Pirandello could sketch.

Accordingly, this dissertation is an attempt to analyze the peculiarities of concept of self that echo Pirandello‘s works generally and function as a leitmotif with all of his peculiar themes. In addition, two of his most famous novels work as primary texts for the explorations while the protagonists are subject to psychological dissection. These two selected primary text are his first famous novel, the Late Mattia Pascal (1904) and his last novel One, No One and One Hundred Thousand (1924). Moreover, the unique aspect of presentation of personality and character, a feature that categorizes these novels as distinct, is examined in the light of certain postulates of selected psychoanalytic theories. Then the study is further divided into three chapters; in these three chapters that have developed from this intricate research, an attempt is undertaken to signify how the unfamiliar notion of self is conceived by

Pirandello; the logical and artistic persuasions that help to create and shape the idea.

However, structurally the three sections of this work are organized as follows: the first chapter comprises an overall psychoanalytic demonstration, comprising all necessary interpretations for better acquaintance with the character of Mattia Pascal and the thematic interplay through his character. This portion of the thesis unveils the psychological realms and peculiar demonstrative elements of self of Mattia Pascal. Moreover, the subdivision of psychological world and a detailed analytic description of those distinct factors that are responsible for voicing the concept of self of Mattia are brought in collectively to form an all- inclusive analysis.

However, the second chapter aims at elaborating an in depth progressive analysis of

Vitangelo Moscarda by identifying certain psychoanalytic features in him. Further, it also 10 displays different features of psychological domain of the second Pirandellian hero,

Vitangelo Moscarda, which combine together accordingly in order to determine his sense of self. Therefore, psychoanalytic study of Vitangelo Moscarda, the protagonist of the novel

One, No One and One Hundred Thousand turn out to be a mirror to reflect Pirandello‘s views about self and thus, Moscarda becomes an archetype of Pirandellian idea of self.

Thereupon, combining these two studies on purpose inspires a comparative analysis represented in the third and last chapter. However, with the help of this section it becomes easy to analyze the comparative interpretation of these features, kinds and the degree to which they contribute to the philosophical and artistic presentation of concept of self designed by Pirandello.

This dissertation, therefore initially claims that, Pirandello attempts to put forward his concept of transitory self by revealing the artifice of human existence and the resulting sickness, also by theorizing that the individuality, identity and normality are mere false structures. Therefore, it proceeds to analyze and compare Pirandello‘s major characters, illustrating the themes and philosophical ideas that distinctly converge and echo throughout both of the narratives. The following work covers two of major characters; Mattia Pascal and

Vitangelo Moscarda, from Pirandello‘s novels Late Mattia Pascal (1904) and One, No One and One Hundred Thousand (1924), as two representatives of his notion of disintegrated self. These two characters therefore suffer through a journey from unawareness to awareness about self. Both of them live the life of an-other person to realize the essence of their own unit self however their strategies do not have a similar motive for hiding under the guise of other.

11

Theoretical Background

Meanwhile, for the sake of substantial evidence the psychoanalytic study of concept of self of

Pirandello is supported with psychoanalytic theories to bring out complete understanding of the subject. In this regard, however, psychoanalysis seeks for harmonization of the postulates of different theories put forward by psychoanalytic theorists with the theme of self as coined by Pirandello. Therefore, this section of theoretical background comprises of a brief overview of the psychoanalytic theories chosen to analyze the psychological perspective of concept of self that Pirandello presents in his works.

As far as perceptions of psychoanalysis are concerned, it is generally accepted as an emblem of implementable psychological and psychotherapeutic approaches. Whereas, concerning its application on works of literature, psychoanalysis assumes the function to deal with hidden motives and intentions. Therefore, this interpretation of the psychology can also be undertaken on two levels, either at the level of the writing itself to reveal and recognize the intentions of the writer behind writing and this psychological interpretation is usually explicit. On the other hand this application is taken at character level, i.e. analyzing the characters‘ actions and dialogues, major and minor, to reveal that is concealed. Therefore, psychoanalysis refers to the phenomenon of analyzing particular content to give voice to some of the most private traumas, fears, complexes, failures, and problems of communication of the subject. This psychoanalytic study contributes to understanding of conscious, unconscious, defense, resistance, actions, gestures, manners, attitudes, conflicts and preferences of the protagonists of Pirandello‘s novels.

Since its advent, psychoanalysis has always been playing a substantial role in the field of psychology and literature as well, and has been enormously expanding in various directions. Though initially established by Sigmund Freud, by now the field of 12 psychoanalysis has been developed by significant efforts of his followers and students specifically Alfred Adler, Alfred Binet, Carl Gustav Jung, Heinz Kohut and Jacques Lacan.

However, each of these psychoanalysts appeared with an independent innovative perception about psychological constructs of human mind. Furthermore, these psychoanalytic theorists contributed significantly to the field of psychology as well as to nourish literature since each of their theories introduced a new dimension of mental investigation.

Sigmund Freud was the first psychoanalyst and actual founder of this field because he was the first person who officially acknowledged the importance of unconscious mental activity. Therefore, his theories on the inner workings of human mind were widely accepted by schools of psychological thought. Then, in 1896, Freud devised the term psychoanalysis for the process and devoted the subsequent forty years of his life on developing its main principles, objectives, practices, and approaches. Furthermore, a large number of his works were dedicated to represent his speculations about mental being of humans, including the structural theory of the mind that described id, ego and super-ego as segments of human mind, dream interpretation, techniques of psychoanalysis, and other significant topics.

Eventually, psychoanalysis began to flourish gaining people‘s attention and trust, and by

1925 psychoanalysis achieved the status of an ever growing movement around the world.

Therefore, as a result of his struggles for many years Freud was considered as the only leading expert of psychoanalysis worldwide. However, major portion of his theories dealt with dreams, their interpretations and resultant conflicts, memories and tongue-slips whereas the rest comprised of psychosexual development of the individual.

Again, Freud claimed that the two basic instincts, Eros and Thanatos, are under the obligation of shaping and taming all human behavior. He further elaborated that Eros was responsible for establishing union over relations while Thanatos untangled the connections by destroying the bond. However, Freud described that an equal possibility existed that the two instincts 13 drive in contradiction to each other through repulsion or may join with each other through attraction. In addition to these, his Theory of the Neurosis (Fear and Anxiety) also appeared productive to solve certain psychological problems, particularly fears and phobias, and to uncover the full picture behind these.

Then, Alfred Adler (1870-1937), founder of the school of individual psychology, has been considered a significant member of psychoanalytic movement that was initiated by

Freud. This world popular philosopher and psychiatrist emphasized the need to recognize individuals within the ties of their social framework. Moreover, Adler developed the first holistic theory of personality, psychopathology, and psychotherapy which added significantly to the approaches of investigation of human mind and personality. Whereas, his clinical books and articles suggested an exceptional aspect of viewing mental disorders that further provided a rare vision towards the art of psychological healing. However, there are stances where he also worked as a great motivator for reassuring optimum human development through treating psychology. Meanwhile, he proposed the importance of encouragement and appreciations available to an individual in his childhood in constructing him into a strong adult character. Whereof, he also undertook the study of phenomenon of decline, deterioration and disorders victimizing the individual in case of facing disapproval and snubbing. Furthermore, extending the previous notion of psychological development he added and connected it to the concept of complexes and brought forward the factors that were responsible for originating and developing these complexes. However, two kinds of complexes, inferiority and superiority, were considered either the result or the origin of all psychological imbalance. On one hand the individual might harbor the feelings of inferiority as and when compared to the others. On the other hand his theory also suggested that the fragments of an individual's unconscious self work either together or autonomously in order to convert the feelings of inferiority into feelings of superiority over others. 14

Equally important, Adlerian theories were mainly associated with the objective of comprehending personal opinions and approaches about one's preferred life style that is unique to every individual. Furthermore it was elaborated by Adler as, since life style of an individual serves as the platform for observing and analyzing people‘s personal view of self, of others, of their outlooks, of their manners, and of the world. However, he held it important that there happens a timespan in early childhood of every individual when all the experiences are compiled and saved, either in the form of memories or habits. That record of experiences, in the view of Adler, functioned as the root of all the patterns of behavior and was also responsible for designing the approaches to gain significance and importance. On the other hand compensation, social interest and goal orientation were some other factors that Adler contributed to help indicate the psychological balance of an individual and to further elucidate the constituents of self.

Last, Jacques Lacan (1901-1981), a post structuralist and peer of Freud also appeared with untouched aspects of psychology in his proposals of psychoanalysis. However, Lacan made his place significant by emphasizing on the linguistics, introducing stage wise development of human mind and structural perspectives for behavior, through his theories.

Therefore, Lacanian psychoanalysis sought to dismantle the assumed notion of totality and urged to remove illusions of unified self through the division of development into stages. As long as major contribution of his theories was concerned, it included the study of an individual undertaking the resistance to change, its fear of disintegration and deficiencies.

However, through his theory he also provided people with the opportunity to realize and to recognize themselves in another imaginary individual. Thereupon, another major input that

Lacan brought to psychoanalysis was the emphasis in the role that language plays in the creation of the self and psychic life. Therefore, remarkably significant aspect of his theory was presenting the three staged structure of human development; imaginary stage, mirror 15 stage and the real, whereas the middle received an exceptional popularity amid all. These stages however aimed to illustrate the order of mental development of a child and the process of occurring of social adaptations. Similarly, Lacan intended to entail the phenomenon of developing gradual familiarity and recognition of an individual with its own image, added with acquaintance with his relations with others and recognizing a sense of value in family and society.

Furthermore, Lacan‘s most significant contribution was his provision of the concept of other taking birth from one‘s experiences with mirror. What this stage referred to, accordingly, was that the individual starts identifying himself with the image he sees in front of his eyes and believes that the image in front of him is he. Meanwhile, in doing so, in a subconscious manner the individual alienates himself from him, prescribing his identity to someone that lied in the mirror, and thus introducing someone else in himself. On the other hand, doubling or double of the persona was also a concept that was attributed to Lacan for its invention since it suggested that the other is a term that allows an outsider to participate in the experiences of being and non-being, of being one and of being the other. However,

Lacan also mentioned the symbolic Other as the big Other and the imaginary other as the little other, but for the most part Lacan merely used capitalization of first latter to distinguish between the two others.

Therefore, for this dissertation these theories as presented by noteworthy psychoanalytic theorists; Freud, Adler and Lacan respectively, play the role of a reflector in the psychoanalytic study of self of the two protagonists of Pirandello‘s selected works.

Whereas Mattia Pascal and Vitangelo Moscarda play as mouthpiece for Pirandello‘s concept of self, they stand as representatives for his peculiar ideas about self. Therefore, with the help of these theories the psychological aspect of the characters‘ thoughts and incidents in the novel are brought together to empirically prove the validity of Pirandello‘s stance. However, 16 the analysis is facilitated by further subdividing the postulates of these theories into smaller elements for ease of access to secret psychic worlds of each of these characters. Accordingly, the dissertation takes the lead to sort out the constructive elements of self, involving personality and identity of Pirandellian protagonists in particular.

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Conclusion

Pirandello‘s protagonists originate through turmoil of ideas. Watching out all their traumas, otherness, complexes, fears, illusions and realities, identity constructions, self-esteems, communiqué collapses and finally homelessness and harmonizing these factors with psychoanalytic theory it can be claimed that these characters are symptomatic of inner restlessness. However, it can also be claimed that their inability to cope with a reality they cannot handle, and subsequent attempts to hide behind the mask are these characters‘ most prevalent qualities. Whereas, the sense of existential trouble and isolation is fetched by their perception of the absurd aspects of their lives and of their uncomfortable role in society, of their failure to communicate, causing their edgy relationships with others as well as with themselves.

Although apparently there is no worth admiring concrete resolution found in the story of these two protagonists since they do not propose any new morality, ethic or goodness to which one may aspire. Still there are more of the purposes that Pirandello has fulfilled by putting these characters in front of the literary world. After analyzing these characters psychologically, it is evident to point the ways in which the two heroes converge all the themes and philosophies in their analogous observation of reality and their discomforting awareness of the impossibility of its illustration. An air of universality can be noticeably felt in Pirandellian readers because of his psychological and abstract relativity.

Therefore, the analysis of Mattia Pascal and Vitangelo Moscarda with reference to concept of self puts forth the result that uncountable psychological factors contribute in bringing a particular person to a certain psychological and physical state. These factors however can also be others except those discussed in the dissertation. However, from this analysis what is most essentially derived is the fact that Pirandello‘ concept of self identifies itself in no one. All the speculations given vent to through protagonists‘ dialogues give a 108 proof to his tendency of defining a living human persona as being none, nothing. Concluding sections of both of the narratives suggest life in death i.e. sustenance of a self in view of

Pirandello is only possible after one goes through severe moments of death of that self, collapsing the self for that moment and letting the new emerge for the next.

Thereupon, a very ironic contrast in the earlier novel‘s narration captures the attention at the end, ―Mattia pascal Alive‖ is the title given to last segment while it is recurrently mentioned that the story starts with the segment under the title The Late Mattia

Pascal. Whereas, this is very clear at the end that Mattia has gone through two deaths in his story and after that he is given the title of alive. Starting of the story with late but ending the story with alive stands as a psychological and spiritual code provided by Pirandello.

On the contrary, the last section of Moscarda‘s tale, given the title as No Conclusion in One, No One & One Hundred Thousand (1924), finally enables Moscarda to mature enough in understanding how unity of self is possible. As perceived by Moscarda‘s experiences he achieves the unity of multiple lives by letting his image of one self die as the moment ends and lets in the other and so on. This is how Moscarda ends up his trial of pursuing one self.

Then, as far as the collective end of individual and comparative analysis of the

Protagonists is concerned, one can claim that Pirandello‘s concept of self is essentially espoused with concept of death or, in other terms, by letting go of what one has been in and till the previous moment and let a new sense overcome. However, it also proposes that deriving a constant and unchanging sense of self is impossible. Nonetheless Pirandello has decided to end in a more philosophic manner than perceived in the start.