Open AccessThe Birds by Tarjei Vesaas and L’airone by Giorgio Bassani: the Identification with the Ornithological Other
Author(s) -
Sara Culeddu
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
nordicum-mediterraneum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1670-6242
DOI - 10.33112/nm.2.1.1
Subject(s) - heron , character (mathematics) , ornithology , mythology , identification (biology) , reading (process) , zoology , geography , art , history , literature , ecology , biology , linguistics , philosophy , southern hemisphere , geometry , mathematics
This study starts from a comparative reading of the novels The Birds (1957) by Tarjei Vesaas and The Heron (1968) by Giorgio Bassani, and focuses on the role of ornithological symbols in the characterization of the main characters and in the development of the stories. The two novels share almost the same stages: an initial situation of marginalization of the character, its identification with a bird, the killing of the bird by a hunter and the subsequent suicide of the character. As in ancient myths and religions, here birds are messengers of fate and carriers of souls to their final destination.