Difficulties, Dilemmas and the Theme of Escape in James Joyces

Eveline and in Italo Svevos Senilit

Critical work dedicated to a comparison of James Joyce and Italo Svevo has
overwhelmingly concentrated on biographical influences, with critics pointingout the
importance of their friendship which started during Joyces sojourn in Trieste.1Joyce
did not meet Svevo until 1907 when the latter decided to take private English lessons
with him. Although Svevo, at the time, was a neglected novelist who published two
novels at his own expense, Joyce was quick to spot the originality of his fictional
themes and methods and started to promote Svevos art in Trieste and later, as an
established Modernist, in Paris. Had it not been for Joyces intervention in French
literary circles, Svevo would have remained a failed writer.
But although a considerable body of criticism has been devoted to the
biographical relationship between Joyce and Svevo and to the importance of their
friendship, such studies rarely deal with the works of the two authors in any
depth.Even those critical readings which have discerned possible links between
Joyces and Svevos methods and themes have remained partial and incomplete, often
subscribing to the view that they are very different as writers.2
This article makes a departure from existing comparisons of the two authors
inarguing not only for the possibility but also the significance of textual parallels
between them, and I link Eveline, one of the short stories in Joyces first major work
Dubliners,with Svevos second novel Senilit.It is a commonplace of Joyce criticism
that the central theme of Dubliners is his notion of paralysis. Although the
termrefers to the actual condition of the priest in the first story, it resonates in its
symbolic connotations throughout the rest of the book, designating different aspects
of personal and social degradation in which Dublin and its inhabitants are entrapped.3

See, for example, John Gutt Rutter, Italo Svevo: A Double Life (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988), 230233; Richard Ellmann, James Joyce(Oxford, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1982), pp.
272-275.
2
For this argument, see, for example, Michael Hollington (Michael Hollington, Svevo, Joyce and
Modernist Time in Malcolm Bradbury and James McFarlane, eds., Modernism 1890-1930, Penguin
Books 1985, pp. 430-442; 432).
For these arguments, see, for example, Peter K. Garrett, Introduction, in Garrett, Peter K., ed.,
Twentieth Century Interpretations of Dubliners: A Collection of Critical Essays (New Jersey: Prentice
Hall, Inc.; Englewood Cliffs, N. J., 1968), p. 3.
3

By the same token, Svevos notion of malattia of illness as opposed to

health is one of the major themes of his work. As Biasin has insightfully noted, it
develops from the representation of physical illness and death to a representation of
illness as a psychological, ontological and social phenomenon.4
Evelines inability to escape Dublin has been perceived as an aspect of
paralysis in

Dubliners

and critical

discussions

dedicated to

the story

haveoverwhelmingly concentrated on the motives underlying it. 5 Some critics have

pointed out that Eveline does not leave Dublin because she is too closely tied to her
household. 6 Other critical discussions question Franks sincerity towards her. 7 The
story hints at these and other possibilities as to why Eveline is unable to elope with
Frank and, as Jeri Johnson has correctly emphasized, it is not possible to find a
definite answer concerning the reasons for her immobility.8
Svevos Amalia is analysed primarily in relation to Emilio as the protagonist
ofSenilit, as well asto Balli and Angiolina. She certainly parallels Emilio in being
ill, and is contrasted with the vital Angiolina and Balli.9Both Emilios and Amalias
illnesses lie in their premature senility. As Baldi has correctly pointed out, this
senility is to be identified with their empty and inert existences which exclude
desire.10 Unlike Angiolina and Balli who are vital, Emilio and Amalia retreat into
their contemplative worlds, embracing inaction as the main principle of their lives.
I compare Joyces Eveline with Svevos Amalia by exploring the reasons
underlying their immobility as the main aspectof their paralysis/malattia and by
looking at the effect that the intrusion of love into their monotonous lives exerts on

See Gian-Paolo Biasin, Literary Diseases: From Pathology to Ontology, Modern Language Notes,
82 (January 1967), 79-102, p. 84.
5
Eveline is, in fact, the only character in the entire collection who is given an opportunity to leave
behind the moral, social and political degradation of the city.
6
For Evelines relationship with her parents, and in particular with her mother to whom she had made
the promise that she would look after the household, see Leonard, Gary M. Wondering Where all the
Dust Comes from: Jouissance in Eveline in James Joyce Quarterly 29, no. 1 (1991 Fall), pp. 23-41.
7
Johnson has pointed out that one of the questions that we have to raise in the context of the story (and
not only in relation to Evelines immobility as such) is the problem of Franks sincerity. It is difficult to
say how sincere Frank is since the story is focalized primarily through Eveline. (See Johnson
Introduction in James Joyce Dubliners. Introduction and notes by Jeri Johnson (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2000),pp. 23-24). For a discussion on the problem of Franks sincerity, see also
Shawn, St. Jean, Readerly Paranoia and Joyces Adolescence Stories, in James Joyce Quarterly, no.
4-1 (1988 Summer-Fall), pp. 665-82. Shawn has further noted that Eveline stays in Dublin not because
of Franks insincerity, but because of her own fears (See p. 667).
8
See Johnson (as above), p. 26.
9
For this argument which prevails critical work dedicated to Svevos Amalia, see, for example, Guido
Baldi, Le maschere dellinetto: Lettura di Senilit (Torino: Paravia Scriptorium, 1998), pp. 43-52.
10
Ibid. 43.
4

them. My main contention in this article is that the two characters grapple with
difficulties and dilemmas as love enters their lives, albeit in a different way: while
Joyces Eveline mentally weighs whether or not she should leave Dublin together
with Frank, Svevos Amalia experiences psychological disintegration as she falls in
love with Balli.Eveline rationally approaches the difficulties and dilemmas
surrounding her decision whether or not she should escape Dublin by leaving with
Frank, while Amaliais dominated and eventually devoured by irrational drives as
Balli becomes part of her life. 11 Svevos character is never given a concrete
opportunity to escape the misery of her life. Yet, I suggest that the moments she
spends with Balli can be seen as her psychological attempt to do this.I further contend
that Amalias psychological disintegration coincides with what George Steiner refers
to as the retreat from the word.12 Throughout the book, she reveals herself inclined
to withdraw into solitude and silence. At the end of the book, she, however, verbally
expresses her pain and suffering. Yet, her thoughts are incoherent and illogical.13
Joyces story overtly suggests that Eveline trie[s] to weigh each side of the
question whether she should stay in Dublin or not.14 Evelines tacit reasoning which
makes up the story implies, in fact, a constant interchange of the motives urging her to
stay in Dublin and those spurring her to leave it. It seems to me that one of the
Amalias irrationality, her psychological disintegration and her final death are often linked with the
influence that Freud had on Svevos writings. Although Svevo denies the importance of psychoanalysis
for his writings, his relationship with it is complex and important. He has made psychoanalysis the
central theme of his best known novel La coscienza di Zeno and its influence is obvious in his other
works as well. Most critics trying to establish a connectionbetween Svevos work and psychoanalysis
concentrate on the relationship between Svevo as a man and his characters, and are, in this sense, partly
biographical. For this relationship, see, for example, Genco, Italo Svevo tra psicanalisi e letteratura.
11

Other psychoanalytic studies of Svevos work include Eduardo Saccone, Commento a "Zeno": saggio
sul testo di Svevo (Bologna: Mulino, 1973c) and Mario Lavaggetto, L'impiegato Schmitz e altri saggi
su Svevo (Torino: Einaudi, 1975c). In his Un killer dolcisssimo Gioanola has attempted to read Svevos
works through psychoanalytic lenses. He draws on Freuds psychoanalysis in interpreting Svevos
novels. (See Elio Gioanola, Un killer dolcissimo:indagine psicanalitica sull'opera di Italo Svevo
(Genova: Il melangolo, 1979c).
12
The Retreat from the Word in George Steiner, The Retreat form the Word in Language and
Silence (New Heaven and London: Yale University Press, 1998), pp. 12-35; 27.
13
In his article George Steiner compares Modernist art with traditional artistic forms and argues that
Modernist works aim at the distortion of syntax and of logical patterns in order to express the interior
of the human mind (See ibid. 27). Amalias final verbal distortion is linked with her pathological
psychological distortion.
A movement away from traditional verbal expression which gives prominence to the poetic word is
also visible in Joyces story. Katie Wales is correct in claiming that Joyces method of scrupulous
meanness which is characteristic of Dubliners is made obvious in Eveline. As Wales has suggested,
meanness in Joyce implies impoverishment of language which matches the perspective and
perceptions of the character (Katie Wales, The Languages of James Joyce(London: McMillan, 1992),
p. 38). Evelines language is impoverished in so far as it implies repetition (Ibid. 39).
14
James Joyce Dubliners (later in the text referred to as D). Introduction and notes by Jeri Johnson
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 25.

possible reasons underlying Evelines immobility is this struggle of opposites in so far

as it eventually immobilizes her. I further argue that an interchange of Evelines
mental opposites is suggested through an abundant use of conjunctions indicating
exclusion.
The text opens with Evelines memory of the field in which she and other
children used to play. The recollection of the happy moments of the childrens play is,
however, undercut by the thought that the field was bought by a man from Belfast
who built houses on it. Through this sudden return to the present, Eveline becomes
aware that the idyllic moments of her childhood have passed. We are then presented
with the memory of her brother Ernest who had been her favourite (D, 27). The
choice of Ernests name is interesting: his name, just like Franks, points to sincerity.
We learn that Ernest never played because he was grown up (D, 25): we can assume
that he was protective towards Eveline. Indeed, her remembering her favourite brother
is soon undercut as she recalls her father who used to be aggressive: he would come
to the field with a stick. However, the scene is immediately mitigated: Still they
seemed to have been rather happy then. Her father was not so bad then. Andbesides,
her mother was alive (D, 25, the emphasis is mine). The abundance of conjunctions
indicating exclusion is important here: by altering the perception of her father,
Eveline embellishes the ugly fact of her fathers violence, trying not only to preserve
the happy recollection of her childhood but also to find reasons as to why she should
stay in Dublin. (We later learn that her father behaves in the same way even now).
She then looks around the room, lingering on the objects which tie her to her
household. The emphasis is on familiarity here: She looked round the room,
reviewing all its familiar objects which she had dusted [] for so many years []
Perhaps she would never again see those familiar objects (D, 25, the emphasis is
mine). Yet, a sense of familiarity is soon denied through the mystery surrounding the
photograph hanging on the wall: And yet during all these years she had never found
out the name of the priest whose yellowing photograph hung on the wall beside the
broken harmonium (D, 25, the emphasis is mine). By introducing the image of the
priest whose identity is unknown to Eveline, Joyce undermines a sense of familiarity
with family matters which Eveline tries to extract from the objects that she regularly
dusts.
The pleasant feeling of closeness is further diminished by the unpleasant
emotions clustering around the treatment that she gets in the Stores ([Miss Gavan]
4

had always had an edge on her D, 26). Evelines unfavourable position in the Stores
is one of the reasons why she should leave Dublin. Thus, her thoughts about Miss
Gavan are soon replaced by the description of her new, imagined home, where she
will be treated with dignity and respect: But in her new home [] it would not be
like that. Then she would be married she, Eveline (D, 26, the emphasis is mine). By
separating Evelines name from the rest of the sentence, Joyce emphasizes the
protagonists desperate need to be seen as a complete individual and not just as a
nameless housewife as a daughter and a sister whose task is to look after the family,
while her needs and wishes are neglected.
However, Evelines picturing of her new home is soon marred by the thoughts
about her violent father, and, in view of her fathers drinking habits, about the
necessity of her giving her wages to the family. For the first time, Eveline (and the
story is presented through her idiolect) reveals awareness that her life is miserable: It
was hard work a hard life but now that she was about to leave it she did not find it
a wholly undesirable life (D, 26, the emphasis is mine). Although the but of the
quoted sentence suggests Evelines with to diminish a sense of misery, she starts
thinking about Frank because he seems to be able to offerwhat she lacks at home.
Unlike her father, he is kind and open-hearted, and unlike both her father and her
brothers who are steeped in Dublin provincialism, he had tales of distant countries
(D, 27). Evelines thoughts about Frank end with the reference to Buenos Ayres. The
text does not suggest that Eveline is aware of the fact that Buenos Ayres is a place
where young women were taken to work as prostitutes.15
Her thoughts about Frank are, thus, replaced by the unpleasant memory of her
father who had forbidden her to see Frank. Yet, this is undercut as we learn about the
letters that Eveline has written to her brother and to her father. In becoming
sentimental towards her family, Eveline is, once again, overwhelmed with the feeling
that she should not leave Dublin: Ernest had been her favourite but she liked Harry
too. Her father was becoming old lately, she noticed; he would miss her. Sometimes
he could be very nice (D, 27).
The positive emotions are, however, denied once again as she starts thinking
about her mother. Although we do not know what the incomprehensible words that
Evelines mother pronounces at her deathbed mean, it is obvious that in remembering

15

For this argument see Johnson, Explanatory Notes in Dubliners, p. 212.

her mothers destiny which she perceives as a life of common place sacrifices closing
in final craziness (D, 28), Eveline is most distressed. It is the pitiful vision of her
mothers life that makes her conclude that she must escape (D, 28).
Although she experiences terror in realizing that she is likely to have a life
which is similar to her mothers, she remains immobile. Towards the end of the story,
we become aware of the nature of her love for Frank: [Frank] would give her life,
perhaps, love too (D, 28). The sentence reveals not that Eveline is incapable of
loving, but, rather, that her feelings for Frank are not intense. She looks at her
relationship almost analytically: she perceives it as a possibility for her to start a new
life.
Indeed, at the end of the story, Eveline is presented as being caught up in a
maze of distress. She pray[s] to God to direct her, to show her what was her duty
(D, 28, the emphasis is mine). Once again, Joyces choice of words is instructive here:
in selecting the word maze, Joyce points to the fact that Eveline is lost not only in
the maze of distress but also in the labyrinth of her own thoughts. He, in fact,
identifies the maze of distress with Evelines attempt to find her way out of her
mental labyrinth.
That the main reason for the protagonists final immobility is to be found in
her mental weighing in her being torn up between a number of conflicting motives,
some of them urging her to stay in Dublin, and others spurring her to leave it is
suggested through her evocation of God at the end. By praying that God should direct
her, she, in fact, reveals a desperate need for guidance. Mature as Eveline is in
thinking about love and about life, she is still young and in need of someone who can
help her make the right decision. Like the characters of The Sisters or of An
Encounter, she cannot find religious guidance. She cannot find guidance in Franks
urging her to come with him either. In having the impression that he would drawn
her (D, 28), Eveline, once again, reveals her prudence (after all, she does not know
Frank well), or, perhaps, her knowledge that she should not trust Frank completely.
Significantly, Frank is described as having a face of bronze (D, 27): his inexpressive
face perhaps suggests that he is hiding something from Eveline.
Although it is true that she is rendered motionless because of her own
psychological tension which, however, is not unconscious, but rather represents her
conscious striving to make the right choice regarding her future life, in view of her
age and of her intense inner struggle which, as we learn, provokes nausea (Her
6

distress awoke a nausea in her body D, 28), she can be seen as being victimized both
by her family and by the society in which she lives.
Hanke has pointed out that almost all of Joyces Dubliners, male or female,
are tradition-bound and victimized by the nets of Irish patriarchy. Yet women are
even more stultified by their acquiescence of paralyzing cultural and religious
restrictions. 16 What transforms Eveline into a victim is not only the fact that her
family is traditional and patriarchal, and that she is caught up in the paralyzing
cultural and religious restrictions of Irish society.17 It is rather the truth that neither
the patriarchal family nor the Irish Catholic Church (which is not only restrictive
towards women but also corrupt) are capable of offering guidance and support to a
young woman who struggles to resolve her dilemma and to make the right choice
concerning her future.
The tragedy of Svevos Amalia in Senilit can be perceived as being triggered
by her inner pathology, as well as by the external factors of her life. Svevo describes
her as old by nature, and we, as readers, never see her differently. She is characterised
as piccola e pallida, di qualche anno pi giovane di [Emilio], ma pi vecchia di
carattere o forse per destino (S, 399).18This inborn stultification partly accounts for
her death at the end of the novel.
Yet, Svevo makes it obvious that external factors also underlie Amalias
malattia whose main aspect is inertia. In the same sentence, we learn that she was
older than him because of her destiny. Amalia is pi giovane di [Emilio], ma pi
vecchia di carattere o forse per destino (S, 399).19
Amalia herself conceives of her life as being determined by external forces
against which it is useless and even amoral to fight, and this makes her different from
Eveline. In weighing the reasons urging her to leave Dublin against those spurring her
to stay, Eveline reveals not only her maturity (as she thinks about life and about love,
Henke, Suzette, Introduction in Henke, Suzette and Unkeless, Elaine, Women in Joyce (Urbana,
Chicago, London: University of Illinois Press, 1982), pp. 11-21; 16.
16

17

Ibid.16.
For the Italian text see, Italo Svevo, Romanzi. A cura di Giovanna Ioli (Torino: Unione TipograficoEditrice Torinese, 1993. Later in the textSenilitis referred to as S). For the English translation of this
and other quotations, see Italo Svevo, As aMan Grows Older. Translated from the Italian by Beryl de
Zoete. Introduction by James Lasdun (New York: New York Review of Books, 1932, 2001c). She was
small and pale, several years younger than himself, but older in character (As a Man, 3).
19
The translation is even more indicative of the fact that the circumstances of her life underlie Amalias
illness. She is several years younger than himself, but older in character unless it were the conditions
under which she lived so long made her appear so (As a Man, 3).
18

she is prudent) but also her personal independence. Amalia, on the other hand, stifles
any impulse to be independent and to make decisions of her own will: Come aveva
preso sullserio quellimperativo che le era stato gridato sin dallinfanzia. Aveva
odiato, disprezzato coloro che non avevano obbedito e in se stessa aveva soffocato
qualunque tentativo di ribellione (S, 456). 20 Although Eveline remains in Dublin
because she is unable to make up her mind and she cannot find guidance outside
herself, her mental dialectics proves that she questions the circumstances of her life,
as well as the norms that were instilled in her. The above quotation indicates that
Amalia is reluctant to re-evaluate the imperatives of her childhood. A few pages later,
she overtly expresses a deterministic view of life: La ricchezza e la felicit erano i
portati del [] destino [di Balli] []. Era naturale che a lei e il fratello fosse stata
tanto dura [la vita] e naturalissimo che al Balli fosse toccata tanto lieta (S, 458).21
Part of Amalias pathology certainly lies in her relationship with Emilio. Like
Eveline, who plays the role of the sister whose task is to look after her family after
her brother, as well as her father because her mother died, Amalia looks after
Emilio: Ella viveva per [Emilio] come una madre dimentica di se stessa (S, 399).22
Yet, as the sentence clearly indicates, the nature of Amalias relationship with Emilio
is different from the nature of Evelines relationship with her brothers. In thinking
about her brothers, Eveline reveals that she is attached to them: she recalls Ernest as
her favourite, as well as decides that Harry will miss her if she leaves Dublin. Yet,
although it is obvious that the emotional bond between Eveline and her brothers is
close, we never perceive it as pathological. Not only does Svevos Amalia play the
role of a mother to Emilio; she is portrayed as being psychologically dependent on
him. Emilio himself perceives her as a burden. He speaks of her as of un altro destino
importante legato a suo e che pesava sul suo (S, 399).23
In fact, Amalias function in the novel is that of Emilios psychological
double: the feelings of the two characters are identical, and this is made obvious on
different occasions in the text. Both are betrayed and disappointed, Emilio by
How seriously she has always taken the instruction which had been dinned into her ears ever since
infancy. She had hated and despised all those who had not obeyed it and had stifled the least tendency
towards rebellion within herself (As a Man, 68).
21
Riches and happiness were his by the decree of providence, why should he be surprised when they
fell to him by lot? [] It was natural for she and her brother should find it hard, especially natural that
to Balli it should be like the triumphant pageant (As a Man, 71).
22
She was like a mother to him in her unselfish devotion (As a Man, 3).
23
His shoulders were weighed down by the burden of another precious life bound to his own (As
aMan, 3).
20

Angiolina, and Amalia by Balli. Emilio is even aware that their emotions are similar:
Come gli somigliava Amalia! A lui parve di veder se stesso a cena con Angiolina (S,
494).24
Yet, the intrusion of love into Amalias monotonous life (just like Eveline, she
is presented not only as playing the role of a mother to her brother but also as being a
devoted housewife) 25 transform her into the character who is different from both
Emilio and Eveline. Being excessively tied to Emilio, Amalia first reacts to his
relationship with Angiolina. Following his first encounter with Angiolina, Emilio
recounts the details of their meeting: Emilio credette di poter confidare la sua
ammirazione e la felicit provata quella prima sera (S, 410). 26 Amalia reacts by
retreating into solitude and silence: Ella stette ad ascotarlo, servondolo muta e pronta
a tavola accioch egli non avesse ad interrompersi per chiedere una cosa o laltra (S,
410).27 Moreover, it is obvious that the intrusion of desire, albeit Emilios, shakes her
identity: Amore era entrato in casa []. Con un solo soffio aveva dissipiata
latmosfera stegnante in cui ella, inconscia, aveva passato i suoi giorni (S, 410).28
Amalia reveals the same pattern of behaviour as Balli enters her life. Joyces
text eventually invites the reader to question the sincerity of Franks love
towardsEveline. Yet,Frank gives Eveline an opportunity to escape Dublin. By
contrast, Ballis aversion to Amalia is made obvious right from the start: Quella
ragazza inspirava a lui un sentimento poco gradevole di compassione []. Era un
errore evidente di madre natura (S, 451).29 Yet, even after falling in love with Balli,
Amalia seems to be aware that Balli does not feel the same: Egli riteneva che [Balli]

How like Amalia was to himself. He felt as it were actually himself he was watching having dinner
with Angiolina (As a Man 115).
25
We learn that Amalia is very pedantic in performing her domestic duties: Limpressione della
povert che faceva la stanza era aumentata dallaccuratezza con cui quelle povere cose erano tenute (S,
399). (The poverty stricken impression which the room made on one was increased by the immense
care obviously lavished on the few articles of furniture it contained As a Man, 64).
26
Emilio thought he might safely confide in her the wonderful happiness he had felt that first evening
As a Man, 13).
27
She sat listening to him at supper, continuing all the while to supply his every need silently and
attentively, so that he ever needed to interrupt his story to ask for this and that (As a Man, 13).
28
Love has entered the house [] A single breath has sufficed to dissipate the stagnant atmosphere in
which she had lived blindly up to that moment (As a Man, 14).
29
The poor girl inspired in Balli a rather uncomfortable feeling of pity []. It was evidently a mistake
on the part of Nature (As a Man, 62).
24

venisse piu spesso da loro per [] laffetto per il fratello, affetto di cui ella stessa
godeva perche una parte riverberava su di lei (S, 461).30
In spite of this, she, at first, enjoys Ballis presence: Subito si famigliarizzo
con lui meraviglandosi della sua mitezza []. Con discrezione aveva saputo []
discutere e regolare lenorme dolore della fanciulla (S, 452).31 Unlike Eveline who
always rationally approaches Franks behaviour towards her, Amalia is, albeit for a
short period of time, carried away by joy: Per [Balli] and per Amalia quel pranzo fu
lietissimo (S, 456). I suggest that in these moments Amalia, in fact, transforms
Ballis attention towards her into a form of psychological escape from her grey
existence: Ma Amalia era stata loggetto di tanta attenzione []. Per la mente della
grigia fanciulla non passarono le speranze per lavvenire. Era proprio del presente
chella gioiva (S, 458).32
Yet, even at the moments in which she manages to psychologically escape her
grey existence, she reveals her inclination towards silence and solitude. As Balli and
Emilio converse (we learn at the beginning of Chapter V that the latter becomes a
regular visitor to the Brentanis because he wants to become closer to Emilio who has
distanced himself from him because of Angiolina), Amalia makes herself invisible:
Discreta come unombra, Amalia volle passare per la stanza (S, 434).33
A few pages later, in the passagefollowing Ballis observation that Emilio is
jealous of him, we learn that she decides to remain silent: Ella non rispose, ma resto
della propria opinione (S, 455).34 Although at this point in the book she is not alone
and enjoys Ballis company, the subsequent lines reveal,once more,her inclination to
withdraw into solitude and silence: Lungamente ella tacque. Dimentico che si era
parlato del fratello e penso a se stessa (S, 455-456).35
Amalias withdrawals into solitude reveal, in fact, her inclination to grapple
with her problems by herself. In Chapter VII, we learn that her attempts to
For her it was sufficient that he came more often to see them simply out of affection for her brother
and that she herself profited by their affection because she could sit in its warmth and sun herself (As
aMan, 75).
31
She had at once made friends with him, and was astonished by his gentleness []. By putting in a
discreet word here and there he had succeeded in stemming and even in reasoning about the girls
violent and uncontrollable grief (As a Man, 63).
32
Never had Amalia been object of so much attention []. The poor girls humble mind harbored no
hopes for the future. She was living solely in the present, rejoicing in the one hour in which she felt
herself important (As a Man, 72).
33
Amalia, unobtrusive like a shadow, was wanting to pass through the room (As a Man, p. 66).
34
She did not reply, but remained of the same opinion as before (As a Man, p. 68).
35
She remained silent for a long while. She forgot they had been talking about her brother, she was
thinking of herself (As a Man, 68).
30

10

psychologically escape her grey existence come to the surface in her dreams. As
Emilio hears her voice from the nearby room, he concludes: Quella disgraziata si
aveva costruita una seconda vita; la note le condceva quel po di felicita che il giorno
le rifiutava. 36 This proves that, unlike Emilio who shares the experience of his
relationship with his sister, Amalia is alone in facing her difficulties. The previous
quotation also suggests that although she rationally knows that Balli is not in love
with her, she unconsciously desires his love. This makes her different from Eveline.
While Eveline rationally approaches her dilemma whether or not to escape with
Frank, Amalia is overwhelmed with irrational and unconscious thoughts about Balli
which come to the surface in her dreams.
Amalias irrationality culminates in herfinal psychological disintegration, but
becomes pervasive when Emilio asks Balli to stop visiting them. Having realized that
Balli would not be coming, Amalia begins to suffer: Aveva gli zigomi rossi []
sera bagnata la faccia per cancellare ogni traccia di lagrime (S, 501).37 Her suffering
renders her speechless once more: Era un incubo sentirsti accanto a tanta tristezza
senza parole.38
Yet, a few pages later we become aware of her incipient madness: Ella
gridava. Il suo dolore aveva trovata la parola (S, 503).39 At this point, her suffering is
turned into anger and she manages to express it verbally. Her verbal expression of her
pain will soon become distorted and incoherent.
As she goes to the theatre with Emilio, she tries to abandon herself to music:
Ma Amalia veramante non cera. Ella si lasciava cullare nei suoi pensieri da quella
strana musica di cui non percepiva i particolari, ma linsieme ardito e granatico che le
sembrava minaccia.40 The quotation makes it obvious that she is mentally absent and
unable to follow music.
Her being mentally absent during the concert heralds her final delirium.It is
obvious that all her frustrations and repressed desires come to the surface during the
delirium. While we initially learn that she is very pedantic in performing her domestic
The poor woman had built up a second life for herself; night bestowed on her a small degree of
happiness which day denied (As a Man, 113).
37
Her eyelids were red [] she had been bathing her faces so as to remove all traces of tears (As a
Man...., 123).
38
It was a nightmare to have that unuttered sorrow always beside him (As a Man...., 124).
39
She positively shouted at him. Her pain had found utterance (As a Man...., 126).
40
But Amalia was not really there at all. Although she could not grasp its details she let that strange
music lull her thoughts, its powerful rhythms reared about her, huge and menacing (As a Man, 135136).
36

11

duties, her room is now presented as being in disorder. Her clothes are scattered all
over it.41Amalias unconscious desire for Balli also comes to the surface and is made
obvious as she sees the fire: Parlava ora di un incendio; vedeva fiamme (S, 557).42It
culminates in her vision of her rival Vittoria and of her wished-for children: Quanti
bei fanciulli (S, 585).43
It is important to notice that, during her delirium, Amalias inclination to
retreat from the word is replaced by her need to express herself verbally. Yet, her
thoughts are incoherent and illogical: Amalia riprese a parlare [] di certe frasi
diceva il principio, di altre la fine; borbottava delle parole incompresibili (S, 560).44
Her psychological and verbal disintegration ends with her death. Thus, while
Evelines mental weighing which represents her attempt to resolve her dilemma
makes her immobile, Amalias inability to cope rationally with her frustrations causes
her to die. This provesthat Svevos notion of malattia is more pervasive than
Joyces. It also makes it obvious that while Eveline is able to face the difficulties of
her life while, Amalia is not. Her delirium can be seen as a form of mental evasion
from the painful truths of her life.

41

See p. 556.
She was talking about a fire now, she saw the flames (As a Man, 191).
43
Oh, she cried, what a lot of lovely children (As a Man, 227).
44
Amalia began talking again [] she said the beginning of certain sentences and the end of others;
some words she gabbled incomprehensibly (As a Man, 195).
42

12