Pirandello’s Dramaturgy of Time by Laura Lucci A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Centre for Drama, Theatre, and Performance Studies University of Toronto © Copyright by Laura Lucci 2017 ii Pirandello’s Dramaturgy of Time Laura Lucci Doctor of Philosophy Centre for Drama, Theatre, and Performance Studies University of Toronto 2017 Abstract Luigi Pirandello’s drama, at its heart, deals with the problems of being and becoming, identity, and creativity. His works are centered upon the nature of personal experience and the ways in which we perceive and interact with the world and its inhabitants. But often overlooked is the role that time plays in those dramas’ already complicated and divisive subject matter. While concepts and themes related to time—e.g., memory and narrative—are often at the core of Pirandello’s drama, a cohesive approach to the topic of time and temporality in his work is lacking. This thesis, using three of Pirandello’s majors plays as case studies, will offer an analysis of the playwright’s dramaturgical management of time as a textual theme, as the basis of dramatic narrative, and—in the guise of memory and anticipation—as the ontological foundation of the concept of dramatic character. These plays, written in the midst of the general discourse on time and temporality at work in the early part of the 20th-century, lend themselves to be read in dialogue with 1) the philosophical exploration of the concept of time, memory, and duration developed by Bergson, 2) the phenomenology of internal time consciousness advanced by Husserl, 3) Heidegger’s idea of temporality as the underlying structure of both being and meaning, and 4) Einstein’s consideration of the relativity of mankind’s perception of events in the space-time continuum. In this thesis, I will demonstrate that Pirandello was working at the iii intersection of trends deriving from each of these philosophical premises, creating a theory of dramatic form that is structured by the very concept it illustrates thematically, namely the relativity of time in man’s experience of the world and the notion of temporality as the foundation of all consciousness. iv Acknowledgments With profound gratitude to my supervisor, Domenico Pietropaolo, whose guidance and support allowed this project to grow and develop in ways I could not have conceived of when I began, and to the members of my supervisory committee, Veronika Ambros and Martin Revermann, whose confidence, patience, and good humor enabled me to keep faith in myself and in the work. To Tamara Trojanowska, Antje Budde, and Christopher Innes, whose insight and generosity made the final stages of the project especially meaningful. To the faculty and staff of Saint Mary’s College and the SMC Rome Program who encouraged my pursuits with generosity and enthusiasm, especially Peter Gardner, Chris Cobb, Catherine Pellegrino, and Portia Prebys. To the faculty and staff of the Centre for Drama, Theatre, and Performance Studies, for their magnanimity and insight, which I hope to model in both my professional and personal life—Pia Kleber, Peter Freund, Nancy Copeland, Stephen Johnson, Bruce Barton, T. Nikki Cesare Schotzko, John Astington, Michael Sidnell, Paul J. Stoesser, Rebecca Biason, Samiha Chowdhury, and the late Luella Massey. To my friends and colleagues, especially Amanda Brewer, Christina Kidd, Theresa Larson, Michelle Sherman, Katherine Frazier, Brigid Fitzpatrick, Alyssa Court, Cassandra Silver, Heather Fitzsimmons Frey, Seika Boye, Grace Smith, Natalie Frijia, Art Babayants, Isabel Stowell-Kaplan, Caroline Reich, Aida Jordão, Michael Reinhart, Kelsey Vivash, Shelley Liebembuk, Natalie Mathieson, Sasha Kovacs Lisa Matsumoto, Bianca Hossain, Chris Sutherland, Cameron Crookston, Lainey Newman, Lisa Aikman, Jenny Salisbury, Noam Lior, and to the entire graduate student body at the CDTPS, for your unwavering compassion and open hearts. To my colleagues in the Midwest Modern Language Association, the Pirandello Society of America, and CUPE 3902, for broadening my community. For the kind assistance of the copyright office at Dover Publications. For those friends, family members, and colleagues who, through the shortcomings of my own memory and abilities, I have neglected to thank here, please know that your good influence has made this work possible. v With love and gratitude, this thesis is dedicated to my parents Aldo Lucci and the late Maria Bonadio Lucci vi Table of Contents Pirandello’s Dramaturgy of Time .................................................................................................... i Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ ix Preface .............................................................................................................................................1 Structure of the Thesis ................................................................................................................9 1.1 Pirandello’s Aesthetic and Contemporary Theories of Time ..............................................9 1.2 Chapter 2: Six Characters in Search of an Author: Putting Theory into Practice ...........10 1.3 Chapter 3: Temporality and the Life/Form Dichotomy in Henry IV ................................16 1.4 Chapter 4: Tonight We Improvise and the Limits of Representation ................................19 1.5 Chapter 5: Conclusion.......................................................................................................21 A Note of Clarification: Selected Editions and Translations of the Texts ...............................22 Chapter 1 Pirandello’s Aesthetic and Contemporary Theories of Time ................................24 Pirandello in Context: Politics and Art in Transition ...............................................................24 1.1 Italy after Unification .........................................................................................................24 1.2 The Italian Artistic Tradition .............................................................................................25 1.3 International Influences: German and Czech Theatre; Russian Formalism .....................30 Pirandello in Search of His Theatre: Statements on Language, Drama, and Identity ..............33 2.1 Early Aesthetic Statements and Short Essays on Drama and Theatre ...............................33 2.2 Pirandellian Humor ............................................................................................................37 Contemporary Theories of Time, Temporality, and Being; Methodological Frameworks ......38 3.1 Bergson on Duration and Memory ....................................................................................39 vii 3.2 Husserl on Intentionality and Internal Time Consciousness ..............................................39 3.3 Heidegger: Time as the Ontological Foundation of Being ................................................41 3.4 Einstein’s Relativity ...........................................................................................................42 3.5 The Aesthetic Consequences of Quantum Theory: Multiple Worlds ................................43 From Words to Action: Towards Six Characters .....................................................................44 Chapter 2 Putting Theory into Practice in Six Characters in Search of an Author ...............46 A Note on the Text and its Translation .....................................................................................47 The Promise and Problem of Metatheatre .................................................................................49 2.1 The Failure of Metatheatre and the Necessity of Humor ...................................................51 Six Characters and the Problem of Embodiment ......................................................................55 Six Characters, Continuity, and Internal Time Consciousness.................................................62 The Ontological Status of Character; Heidegger on Time, History and Art .............................71 Six Characters and Relativity ...................................................................................................88 More Thoughts on Metatheatre ...............................................................................................101 Moving Forward .....................................................................................................................102 Chapter 3 Temporality and the Life/Form Dichotomy in Henry IV .....................................104 Some Remarks about this Selection ........................................................................................105 Bergson’s Comic and Pirandello’s Humor .............................................................................110 2.1 Perception, Memory and the Body in Henry IV ..............................................................114 On Continuity in Henry IV ......................................................................................................126