Two Views on Melancholy on The Moon and the Bonfires, by Cesare Pavese

Abstract

This article aims to present two views on melancholy in Pavese’s novel The Moon and the Bonfires, whose main characters are Eel, an unnamed narrator who spends half his life in exile abroad, and Nuto, his best childhood friend who has put down roots in the town where he was born. The objective is to draw a contrast between these two characters, which will allow us to discuss the place of exile and rootedness in the provinces of post-war Italy in the 20th century, as well as their views on “survivals” (Didi-Huberman’s concept) and their melancholic stance. To this end, the following works will be brought up for discussion: The Need for Roots, by Simone Weil, Survival of Fireflies and Écorces by Didi-Huberman, the proposition and the defense of a “Progressive Folklore”, by Ernesto De Martino, and the ideas of Jean Starobinski in his book L’Encre de la mélancolie. In general terms, the goal is to expand the possibilities of reading The Moon and the Bonfires in order to problematize the dichotomies between village and city, primitive and civilized.