The Fall by Alberto Moravia
"The Fall" by Alberto Moravia is a psychological exploration of a young Italian boy named Tancredi, who is recovering from an illness in a villa by the ocean. The narrative follows Tancredi's transformation from a lively child into a guilt-ridden and listless youth, reflecting on his emotional turmoil and inner conflicts. The villa, filled with antiquities and an oppressive atmosphere, serves as both a refuge and a source of fear for him, particularly in the mysterious attic where he immerses himself in dark fantasies. As Tancredi wrestles with his feelings of remorse—stemming from an accidental act of violence against a cat—he also grapples with the complexities of growing up, sexuality, and the nature of existence. The story highlights his intense internal struggles, symbolized through his interactions with the unsettling environment of the villa and the strange occurrences that unfold. Moravia's work delves into themes of alienation and the search for identity, making it a poignant reflection on the psychological dimensions of adolescence. This narrative invites readers to contemplate the intersection of innocence, guilt, and the often tumultuous journey of self-discovery.
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The Fall by Alberto Moravia
First published: "La caduta," 1940 (English translation, 1954)
Type of plot: Psychological
Time of work: Unspecified
Locale: Italy
Principal Characters:
Tancredi , a preadolescent Italian boyHis mother Veronica , his mother's maid
The Story
Tancredi, a young Italian boy, has been ill for a few months, so his parents get a villa near the ocean for the remainder of his recuperation. During his illness, he has changed from a willful, capricious boy with curly hair to a short-haired, scrawny, and listless youth. He feels obsessed, guilty, and remorseful but does not know about what.
The villa into which he, his mother, and her maid move belongs to an antique dealer who allows them to stay there in return for favors that the family has done for him. The antique dealer has been using the massive, three-story building as a storehouse, and every room is crammed with ugly, unsalable furniture, paintings, tapestries, and knickknacks. Even its windows fail to provide much light, because many are covered with stained glass. Its rooms smell of old wood, mold, and mice, rather than healthful sea air. Tancredi's mother finds the house uncomfortable and worries that one of them might damage something, but for Tancredi, the house is both terrifying and seductive. Although he can play outside on the beach, he increasingly spends his time exploring the house. Particularly attracted to its attic, he thinks of the rooms there as being like cells, whose low, whitewashed ceilings and rough floors he is sure contain the secrets of tragic lost loves. The rooms are filled with large, dark paintings, and Tancredi spends hours lying on his back in them, inventing terrifying stories based on their pictures.
One day in the midst of such a reverie, Tancredi remembers that he has made a slingshot and goes outside to test it in an enclosure adjoining the villa. When his sleeve becomes stuck on brambles through which he has passed often before, he believes that the brambles are consciously trying to stop him but still manages to enter the trash-littered sunken enclosure. Although he is outdoors, it is as oppressive as being inside the house; the day is overcast with dark clouds, and the acrid smell of rubbish fills the still air. He puts tin cans from the trash heap on the wall and shoots stones at them. When a large cat living at the villa strolls across the wall, he aims a stone at it but does not really expect to hit it. He is shocked when his stone puts out one of the cat's eyes, and the cat stands motionless, surprised, staring at him. Rather than fearing the cat will attack him, Tancredi imagines that the cat will gain revenge by loyally attaching itself to him. After a sudden clap of thunder, Tancredi races home, only to find the injured cat waiting there for him; it rubs up against his bare legs, and Tancredi runs away, screaming. The cat follows him through the house, sometimes looking terrified, sometimes hopeful. Tancredi seizes a pistol from a table filled with ancient weapons and throws it at the cat, but instead of hitting the cat, he breaks the glass on the dining room door. Tancredi escapes into a third-floor bedroom, soundlessly closing the door.
The room he has entered is adjacent to the room that he left earlier, and quite like it, except that it is barren of pictures. The door connecting the two rooms is ajar; Tancredi hears two voices coming from the other room but sees no one when he peeks inside. He becomes aware that one voice is a man's, then hears someone leave the room, and someone else drop onto the bed. Tancredi then sees Veronica's naked, white legs on the bed; at first, they seem unable to keep still, moving wearily and voluptuously, then they stop. Although unsure what he has seen, Tancredi is overcome with shame.
Tancredi falls asleep, and awakens to darkness. He hears rats in the ceiling, and then a piece of plaster falls on him. Seeing a rat in the ceiling, he calls frantically for Veronica. She comes in from the next room and knocks the rat out of the hole, but it falls on her and both she and Tancredi become hysterical. His mother then enters the room, and Tancredi wakes up from his dream about the rat.
A thunderstorm has started and caused an electrical fuse to blow out. Tancredi, who is very handy with electrical things, is asked to get his tools and fix the fuse. The cat appears while he is working on the fuse box, and he determines to kill it this time. As he aims a screwdriver at it, there is a blinding flash, and he passes out.
Two days later, Tancredi's mother tells her friends over a game of cards that the cat got caught in electrical wires, causing the flash and electrocuting itself. She adds that she has forbidden Tancredi to go near the electricity again.