Talking animals “talking” with animals in Elsa Morante’s "La Storia"
In this essay, I explore the representations of spoken language by animals in "La Storia" by Elsa Morante. Furthermore, I seek to examine the ways in which humans, namely little Useppe, express themselves with animals and interpret what is said, but I also seek to discover what elements ma...
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2016 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universidad de Alcalá (UAH) |
| Repositorio: | e_Buah Biblioteca Digital Universidad de Alcalá |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ebuah.uah.es:10017/25238 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10017/25238 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Semiotics Zoosemiotics Italian Animal Communication Morante Semiótica Zoosemiótica Comunicación Literatura Medio ambiente Literature Environmental science |
| Sumario: | In this essay, I explore the representations of spoken language by animals in "La Storia" by Elsa Morante. Furthermore, I seek to examine the ways in which humans, namely little Useppe, express themselves with animals and interpret what is said, but I also seek to discover what elements may predispose Useppe to be privy to code-sharing with these creatures of other species. While the interactions in this tragic novel are mainly between humans, it is worthwhile to consider the relationship between Useppe and birds, canines, equines, and felines. He acts as a type of intermediary between the species, though I venture to say that he shares more in common with animals than with humans: “Useppe rimaneva del tutto estraneo, e inconsapevole, come un cucciolo ingabbiato in una fiera” (Morante 458; “Useppe remained completely estranged, and unaware, like a puppy caged and put on display” [translation my own]), like a child raised amongst wolves. Since my research examines interspecies communication, I have used zoosemiotics as a starting point. My main focus, then, will be on how Morante successfully employs zoosemiotic notions to make the “spoken” as well as gesticulative communication of the animal reflect the animal’s temperament and emotional nature—even as a synecdoche for the archetype of the animal proper—and interpretable by the human interlocutor. That is, through implicit knowledge of zoosemiotics, these symbols are not just interpreted by Useppe but answered using a mutually decipherable code. In this way, Morante illuminates the profound relationships between humans and animals, relationships that are sustained due to the myriad means by which interspecies communication, compassion, and cooperation intersect and flourish in this novel. |
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