Huge congratulations to Charlotte, her essay was awarded the mark of ‘Highly Commended’ by the judges of the Newnham Modern and Medieval Languages Essay Prize. She commented on a (translated) passage from Italo Calvino’s ‘If On a Winter Night A Traveller’, a challenging text and we are all very proud of this achievement, especially as the field of entries was extremely strong.
Italo Calvino’s novel, “If on a winter’s night a traveller”, presents ideas about reading books. In this extract, Calvino explores the relationship between the reader, author, translator, and the book itself, whilst also presenting ideas about literature in general, in an engaging and comedic manner.
Calvino begins the extract by acknowledging the existence of himself and the novel, stating that the reader had noticed the appearance of, “If on a winter’s night a traveller” the “book by Italo Calvino”. This sentence grasps the reader’s attention, as it is unusual for a novel to begin by addressing its own existence. Through mention of the novel, not only does the reader become more engaged with the content, but Calvino signals to the reader that the novel takes the form of a metafiction. However, Calvino writes that the novel “appeared”. This choice of language is peculiar, as the word “appeared” implies spontaneity. Most authors would agree that the release of a finished novel comes after extended periods of toil, therefore by implying that, “If on a winter’s night a traveller” had materialised at random, the reader is left with the impression that the novel was not written. Thus, Calvino creates a disconnect between himself and the novel, perhaps reflecting his feelings about his role as the author. Calvino tells Frank MacShane, ‘I wrote ‘If on a winter’s night a traveller’ to show how well I could write if I did not exist’ and that he sees his ‘individually as an obstacle to (his) expression of the world’ (Calvino quoted MacShane, 1983). Thus, Calvino presents his thoughts and feelings about the relationship between the author and the novel, and introduces the main theme of the novel in an effective manner.
In the extract, Calvino directly addresses the reader as “You” multiple times throughout the extract, which not only captures the attention of the reader, but also allows the reader to gain a sense that they, specifically, are the addressee of this extract of the novel and thus the relationship between the author and the reader becomes more personal. Through creating a seemingly more personal
relationship between the author and the reader, the reader’s attention is further drawn to the main themes of the novel, which include the complex relationship between the author, the translator and the reader. The novel is ‘nonlinear’ (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2015), thus if Calvino neglected to introduce the reader to the main themes of the novel, the novel would appear to lack direction and structure and thus would struggle to capture and maintain the reader’s attention.
Calvino explores ideas about the interpretation of novels. By referring to the reader as “You”, Calvino writes as if he knows the reader personally and has witnessed their actions; he writes, “You went to the bookshop and bought the volume”. Whilst this assumption may be true of some readers, for numerous others, the method of purchase will different. Whether or not Calvino’s assumptions about the reader are true, they create intrigue as the reader is interested to learn what the author may assume about them. The reader may imagine themselves buying a book at a bookshop, and by placing themselves in the scenario Calvino describes, the reader themself becomes a character and part of the narrative of the novel. By creating scenarios for the reader to imagine themselves in, attention is drawn to the idea that every reader has different life experiences, having their own idea of what this bookshop looks like. Thus, Calvino makes the reader aware that the way they interpret novels is through the lens of their own life experience.
The interpretation of the extract not only relies on the reader’s experiences, but also the translator. “If on a winter’s night a traveller”, and numerous others of Calvino’s works, were translated by William Weaver, and both Weaver and Calvino were familiar with the ‘problem’ of translation (Weaver, n.d.). Both parties would be aware of how the translator must be able to interpret the novel and select words that match the meaning of the text, but this relies on the translator’s ability to convert the colloquialisms and common phrases of one language to another. It is quite possible that, given the lightly comedic tone of the extract, Calvino used idioms or colloquialisms in the novel that would be familiar to an Italian-speaking reader, but incomprehensible to an English-speaking reader if translated literally. Phrases that may not be universal which are used in the extract include,
“your days are numbered”. The relationship between the author, translator, and the reader is thus explored by Calvino, as it is suggested throughout the novel that a translator’s own interpretation of the author’s writing based on their personal life experiences defines the novel in that particular language. Thus, it can be argued that translated novels are defined by the reader and the translator, as each bring their own life experiences to their interpretation.
Calvino compares the relationship between the reader and the book on the shelf to the relationship between a dog in the city pound and someone who comes to adopt or reclaim them. Buying a book from a bookshop is compared to the “rescue” of a dog. Calvino therefore presents the idea that books have a degree of reliance on a reader, as a dog relies on its owner. A book is written for the purpose of being read and interpreted, and thus in this analogy it is suggested that, for a book to fulfil its purpose, a reader must ‘rescue’ it from the bookshop and read it. The idea of the dogs gazing from their “cages” gives the reader the impression that, if books were to have feelings, they would be unhappy in a bookshop, perhaps as they are not being read and thus are not fulfilling their purpose. One could argue that the analogy also suggests the reliance a book has on a reader reflects the financial reliance an author has on the reader purchasing a book, as without books being “rescued” from bookstores, the author is, in the same way “rescued” from the threat of poverty.
The idea of the other dogs at the pound having a “bewildered gaze” suggests that the books, or the authors of the books, may be confused as to why they were not rescued, or their books were not chosen by the customer, perhaps reflecting how Calvino imagines he may feel should his book be not chosen to be read. An atmosphere of resentment, as a result of the betrayal, is created, as the other dogs are still in their “cages” watching the “rescue” of their “former companion”. Use of the word “former” suggests companionship is terminated once a dog has been rescued, as they are no longer in the same situation. The “cage” reveals an unpleasant aspect of a dog’s time in the pound, and thus, when reading this passage, the reader may feel sorry for the books that they did not purchase, or may feel guilty about only “rescuing” one book, leaving others to suffer.
Calvino presents ideas about literature by capitalising the first letter in each word which describes a book. The unusual appearance of the resulting phrases attracts the reader’s attention, and comedic effect is created when informal language is capitalised in such a way, as a reader may expect such phrases to contain formal language and may be surprised when it contains words which carry a conversational tone such as “Maybe”. The conversational tone created by use of words such as “ditto” and “Maybe” enables Calvino to replicate conversations or thoughts that a reader may have had, and the reader can further relate to the experiences Calvino describes through broad categorisation of novels. The category of “the Books Dealing With Something You’re Working On” is an example of a category being so broad that almost any reader could relate, as “Something” could be anything, and to “Dealing With” could be any range of action from offering solutions to simply discussing an issue. Through creation of a conversational, almost casual tone, and by including categories of novels which are relatable to a wide audience, Calvino is able to prick at the reader’s conscience. After “You” have purchased his novel, Calvino writes, “Good for you”, which serves as an affirmation for the reader that there is believed to be much virtue in purchasing books with the intention to read. This idea of virtue in reading is expanded upon later in the extract, as Calvino writes that “You” are under “ambush” from the “Books You’ve Always Pretended To Have Read”. Calvino thus exposes how some readers may pretend to have read certain novels to impress others, exploring the idea that the belief that there is virtue in reading has led to pretention regarding some pieces of literature. The use of the word “ambush” suggests that some may fear a surprise attack in the form of a question relating to a book they have pretended to have read. Calvino states that the “Books You Haven’t Read” are “frowning at you”, personifying the books suggesting that the reader is not only made to feel guilty by society for not reading a book, but the mere existence of the books serve as a reminder of this guilt. Calvino uses military language, including but not limited to “barricade”, “phalanxes” and “assaults”, the effect of which is that the reader’s attention is drawn to the vicious nature of the societal pressure a reader may feel to have read certain novels. The hierarchical, military language used in the extract such as “infantry” and “troops” is particularly
appropriate as it reflects how a reader may tend to form hierarchies of books to prioritise reading, or how society as a whole tends to champion some books above others despite the quality of a book being entirely subjective. However, as books are inanimate objects, this language is purposely melodramatic and creates comedic effect. Calvino further evokes feelings of guilt in the reader by naming categories such as “Books You Could Put Aside Maybe To Read This Summer”, as it indicates that the reader has not read this book, and yet willingly falls victim to consumerism when purchasing more novels despite the fact they own novels that they haven’t yet read. Calvino emphasises the sheer volume of novels that “You” feel guilty about neglecting to read by describing them as “countless embattled troops” in an “array”. The passage contains a list of seven categories of books, and this is effective in emphasising the volume of novels that have been neglected, as the structure causes the reader to read more slowly, and consider which novels they feel they, personally, have neglected and belong in each category. Each line of the list begins with “the Books”, and most continue with a form of “You”. The repetition of these first few words on each line create a sense of monotonous rhythm, putting emphasis on the vast number of neglected books, and the reader themselves may feel attacked by the feeling of guilt stemming from the books they own but have neglected to read.
In conclusion, Calvino introduces themes of the novel such as the relationship between a reader, author, translator and book by acknowledging the existence of himself and the novel, referring to the reader as “You” throughout the extract. Calvino uses the analogy of dogs in a city pound to demonstrate the reliance of books upon readers, thus expanding upon the relationship between a reader and his own novel. Calvino categorises books, through which he presents ideas about literature in general. His categorisation of novels evokes guilt within the reader, as they consider books they have neglected to read, however, melodramatic use of military language contributes to a comedic tone which serves as a light catharsis. Thus, Calvino puts the reader at the centre of the narrative in order to present ideas about books and the relationships between all parties involved in its creation and interpretation.
Bibliography
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2015. Britannica. [Online]
Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/If-on-a-Winters-Night-a-Traveler [Accessed 02 03 2021].
MacShane, F., 1983. ‘The Fantasy World of Italo Calvino’, s.l.: The New York Times. Weaver, W., n.d. ‘Calvino and His Cities’, s.l.: s.n.
