Pirandello and the modern uneasiness

Abstract

The Sicilian writer and playwright Luigi Pirandello lived between two worlds: the late Sic­ily universe in the end of the nineteenth century, and the bold modernity in the beginning of the twentieth century. His work encompasses the changes in the system of values as well as the social and historical transformations. At the same time, he highlights the powerless man who was facing such reality and this becomes a meaningful element in his texts. Pirandello’s poetic constitutes itself according to the dynamics and theme of a criticizing decadence towards society, the postulates of an artistic radicalism and the absence of history, and life meaning as well. O falecido Mattia Pascal, Um, nenhum e cem mil, Assim é (se lhe parece) e Seis Personagens à Procura de um Autor are the works cited in this paper with the purpose of showing that fragmentation, mimesis disruption and anti-representation are constant in Pirandello’s works which are immersed in the contradictory mo­dernity.

Keywords

• Pirandello
• Modernidade
• Antirrepresentação