The metaphorical and symbolic landscape in Paesi tuoi by Cesare Pavese

Abstract

The rural landscape as a symbolic element, which has such a great importance in Pavese’s work, finds its maximal expression in the short novel Paesi tuoi (Your villages, 1941). In this text, the hills, the planted lands, the sky of Piemonte, are no longer the stage where the plot takes place, yet it becomes a metaphor of the characters’ feelings. The description of the environment, the personification of natural elements and a richly nuanced use of adjectives make the landscape the true leading role of the narration. Characters and actions melt with the stage and end up by becoming a part of it. In the clash between city and countryside, men renounce to rationality and to citizenship rules, since they let themselves been dragged by land’s passions.

Keywords

• Cesare Pavese
• Paesi tuoi
• colinas
• metáfora
• paisaje.