Ursinus College Digital Commons @ Ursinus College English Honors Papers Student Research 4-27-2015 A Redemption of Meaning in Three Novels by Italo Calvino Dominick J. Knowles Ursinus College,
[email protected] Adviser: Rebecca Jaroff Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/english_hon Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Click here to let us know how access to this document benefits oy u. Recommended Citation Knowles, Dominick J., "A Redemption of Meaning in Three Novels by Italo Calvino" (2015). English Honors Papers. 2. https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/english_hon/2 This Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Research at Digital Commons @ Ursinus College. It has been accepted for inclusion in English Honors Papers by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Ursinus College. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. 1 of 91 “The Redemption of Meaning in Three Novels by Italo Calvino” Dominick Knowles April 27th, 2015 Submitted to the Faculty of Ursinus College in fulfillment of the requirements for Honors in the Department of English 2 of 91 Table of Contents I. Abstract II. Introduction III. Chapter I: “Ambiguous Miracle” (Invisible Cities ) IV. Chapter II: “Avoiding the Void” (If on a winter’s night a traveler ) V. Chapter III: “Forms of Silence” (Mr. Palomar ) VI. Works Cited 3 of 91 I. Abstract In this thesis I present three readings of Italo Calvino’s later novels: Invisible Cities (1972), If on a winter’s night a traveler (1979), and Mr. Palomar (1983). My primary aim is to defend Calvino against dominant scholarly interpretations that position him as a Postmodern nihilist, a literary trickster interested solely in toying with the mechanics of language.