“War” by Luigi Pirandello
The story “War” is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and is set in a train carriage in Italy during World War I. Despite their nation being at war with the Central Powers, the passengers in the train carriage are also engaged in a different kind of conflict: an internal struggle with their own emotions and feelings.
In Pirandello’s story, he endeavors to highlight the destructive consequences of war on the lives of ordinary people, particularly those from the middle class. One of his notable strengths as a playwright and author was his ability to create characters who reveal themselves primarily through dialogue. He achieves this by dramatizing real-life situations and employing characters who exist in a quasi-visionary realm. The characters in the story seem trapped in a liminal space, constantly oscillating between the harsh reality of their lives and a dreamlike, imaginary world. They carry with them a pervasive sense of melancholy and skepticism, akin to the ever-present threat hanging over their fragile existence.
The characters who have been affected by the war appear as if they are being consumed and tormented in the crucible of catastrophic conflicts. The story reflects a deep skepticism toward those who believe in the inherent necessity of war, as evidenced by the characters’ inherent fear and apprehension in Pirandello’s portrayal of war. The author’s intent is to depict a portrait of individuals who seek to escape the perpetual tension and profound demoralization that have afflicted their souls due to the devaluation of values in imperialistic pursuits.
These characters are portrayed as individuals who have chosen to adopt an inauthentic way of life in their pursuit of equilibrium, attempting to reconcile themselves with a polemic and opaque reality by uprooting their mental and spiritual worlds. Pirandello’s narrative delves into the struggles of the human condition, illustrating how individuals grapple with the challenges posed by war and the erosion of their core values in the face of imperialism.
The families depicted in the story find themselves trapped in a world where the concept of social responsibility is both appreciated and depreciated, all under the ominous shadow of war. War has created a complex and contradictory environment where societal values and responsibilities are both elevated and diminished. It’s a world where individuals are compelled to grapple with the ethical and moral implications of war, often leading to a profound sense of ambivalence and moral confusion.
Hooti eruditely opines:
Pirandello in his War gives a vivid picture of the worries of war. He tries to divulge the hidden agony of the parents, whose sons are either shedding blood or getting killed in the battle fields. They know the futility of the war. Indeed, they are well aware of the politicized connotations of the fossilized normative terms like martyrdom, honor, heroism and patriotism, but still keep quiet and try to console themselves with these honey coated phrases.
Indeed, Pirandello’s work reveals the grief that penetrates the stoicism of the war torn family. Keeping this in mind, we can relate his story to Käthe Kollwitz’s art titled “The Mothers”. In 1908, the German artist Käthe Kollwitz, known for her skills in graphic art, illustration, and sculpture, published “The Peasants’ War” (Bauernkrieg). It took her six years to complete this print series, consisting of seven woodcut scenes set against the backdrop of the real historical events of the Great Peasants’ Revolt. This series is often considered her most ambitious and distinguished work. These images depicted the oppressed and marginalized, a theme that would become a lifelong commitment for the artist. Utilizing abstract representations of mothers, widows, young volunteers turned soldiers, and sorrowful parents, the prints centered on the anguish and mourning experienced by those who remained behind.
In “The Mothers,” a component of the War portfolio, Käthe Kollwitz presents a powerful visual narrative. The artwork portrays a group of women who appear almost as a single, solid sculptural entity. They form a protective barrier around an infant held by one of the women, while two children peer out from between the mothers’ skirts. This composition suggests that mothers will unite to shield their children from being drawn into future conflicts. However, there’s an unmistakable sense of defensiveness and anxiety in their posture and expressions. The woodcut effectively conveys the idea of sacrifice and suffering endured by German mothers who sent their sons off to war in the name of their country’s honor. Now, these mothers fear that their sacrifices may extend to losing the next generation to future militaristic endeavors causing a cycle of conflict. Although based on different nations, this is relatable to Pirandello’s story as both are realistic descriptions of unity in grief endured by parents whose children go to war.
Children held a profound significance in Käthe Kollwitz’s body of work, rooted in her personal experience as a mother. In a conversation with the writer Lou Andreas-Salomé, Kollwitz candidly discussed her struggles in reconciling these two vital aspects of her life. She emphasized that marriage and motherhood took precedence, and in her view, an artist who did not embrace both family life and their artistic pursuits would inevitably diminish both as a human being and as an artist. In a conversation with her son Hans in 1926, Kollwitz likely reiterated this sentiment, highlighting the enduring importance she placed on the roles of motherhood and family in her life and art:
‘There are three things that have been of importance in my life — having had children, a faithful life-long companion and my work.’
Käthe Kollwitz, Letters of Friendship
This poignant artwork not only reflects Kollwitz’s artistic skill but also serves as a deeply personal reflection of her love for her sons and the universal theme of maternal protection and grief that resonates with many, including the grieving mothers in Pirandello’s story. Kollwitz skillfully channeled the themes of Social Realism through her distinctive, expressionistic approach. Much like Pirandello, her artistic lens was firmly focused on the working-class individuals of Germany who bore the brunt of the turmoil brought on by societal upheaval, war, and economic disparities. While she dabbled in various artistic mediums such as painting, drawing, and sculpture, a significant portion of her artistic output consisted of prints. In this medium, she excelled in creating stark, high-contrast representations of grief and the harsh realities of social conditions. Her work, characterized by its bold and evocative style, provided a poignant visual commentary on the suffering endured by marginalized members of society.
Käthe Kollwitz was a trailblazer who defied the limited role society assigned to female artists during the mid-1900s. She challenged societal norms and its leaders by creating emotionally charged artworks that depicted the struggles of workers and the stark realities of the First World War.. In the years leading up to World War I, artists often diverged into two distinct approaches in response to the war’s impact: some sought to express their raw emotions through abstraction, while others aimed to evoke deep emotions in viewers through realistic depictions of their own or recounted stories of the war’s horrors. Both Kollwitz and Pirandello belonged to the latter group. Kollowitz’s artistic approach was decidedly anti-establishment, characterized by the use of dark and somber colors and the creation of graphic and provocative images.
Kollowitz practiced neither art for art’s sake nor escapism. Kollwitz’s approach to woodcut art distinguished her from the avant-garde artists of her time. While artists like Pechstein often employed woodcuts as a means to call attention to their own suffering or to communicate with other artists, Kollwitz used this medium as a powerful call to society at large. The woodcut’s reductionist and intense qualities offered her a unique means of representation that allowed her to effectively communicate emotions. It wasn’t just a form of artistic expression for her; it was a means to engage and provoke a reaction from society.
Tragically, the outbreak of World War I disrupted the physical bond she had with her children. In late 1914, amid the full-scale war, Käthe experienced the devastating loss of her son Peter, who was sent to the front lines and did not return, much like the fat man’s son in Pirandello’s story. This loss was particularly painful for Käthe because she found herself in a society where some, like Gabriele Reuter, celebrated the idea of sacrificing family for the sake of society. Käthe responded with a poignant question, wondering how mothers, who had cared so lovingly for their children, could find the heroism to send them off to face the horrors of war.
In her article, Tag, she glorified a mother’s sacrifice to war; Käthe responded: ‘Where do all the women who have watched so carefully over the lives of their beloved ones get the heroism to send them to face the cannon’?
Käthe’s connection with the March Dead served as a reminder of the young men who had hopes for life but had tragically lost their lives in the war. It contrasted sharply with the notion of sacrificing joyfully for the war effort, as the reality was one of bleakness and despair over the loss of loved ones. Pirandello, too, mocks the idea of sacrificing a child for the nation’s sake through the irony of the man’s suggestion that his son died happily defending his country. However, the death of his son only becomes real when the woman asks him if his son is really dead. Pirandello’s story is also drawn from his personal experiences with the first World War, having his son captured as a war prisoner.
Käthe was deeply critical of the leaders who failed to foresee the inevitable destruction caused by the war. This fueled her determination to transform her cathartic art into a statement that exposed the madness driving Germany to send its young people to war. “War” also reveals the irony of glorification of war that attempts to hide the gruesome reality of loss.
In Käthe Kollwitz’s artwork, women are depicted as both desperate to hold onto their children and as fierce fighters. These women come together to create a protective dome around their young ones, symbolized by a single arm cutting horizontally across the canvas, conveying a sense of stability and security. On the far left of this circle of women, two hands appear as if they are trying to stop someone or something. They might belong to the pregnant woman at the end of the group, but their identity remains ambiguous. The intermingling of limbs and faces creates an overall impression of a generalized group representing all German mothers.
Käthe incorporated her own feelings of fear. The mothers, facing outward, are vigilant, anticipating the next potential attack that could breach their protective circle. This imagery powerfully reflects the inability to shield their children from the ravages of war. It’s possible that Käthe was critiquing the lack of power women had in making decisions about war, which resulted in the loss of millions of young men’s lives for a cause that often seemed ambiguous. This hopelessness is also present in “War” where the man declares that even though the parents might love their children more than the country, their children strongly pursue nationalism and the parents cannot stop their children from their passions.
The art draws a parallel with Virginia Woolf’s “Orlando,” where the concept of what it means to be a perfect man or woman is explored. The question arises: if it’s unmanly to avoid war, does that mean it’s manly to die for an uncertain cause? The text highlights the societal expectations and double standards faced by men and women in times of war. A woman’s decision not to sacrifice her life for her children and go abroad might be perceived as unmotherly, just as a man’s decision not to sacrifice his life for an uncertain cause might be seen as unmanly.
In Kollwitz’s artwork, there is only one child visible, a small head and hand emerging from the mass of mothers. This lone child symbolizes the innocence and vulnerability of young individuals caught in the midst of war and poverty. The child’s gaze is cautious and curious, suggesting a temptation to explore the world beyond. However, a bluish, skeletal hand extends from the right, perhaps representing Death, a recurring motif in Käthe’s work. This portrayal implies that the mothers, despite their best efforts, cannot protect their irreplaceable children from the horrors of war, nor can they shield them from the inexorable force of death.
Even though Kollwitz’s and Pirandello’s works are based on separate experiences of war, they share the universal pain of parents who have to let go of their children. Kollwitz’s art takes the shape of a tombstone, which like the stories of the passengers in the train, exposes the audience to the stark reality of the many deaths that lie beyond the glories of war. In the end of Pirandello’s story, the veil of stoicism is broken and the author shows that pain from loss is inevitable. This sets all the passengers in the same united boat of grief, just like Kollwitz’s art signifies the shared fear and unity of the mothers. Both these works express the cruelty of war and evokes a strong reaction in the audience.
By Preeti Daimari (MA213210)
V — BA EngPY
