Suicides by Cesare Pavese
"Suicides" by Cesare Pavese explores themes of loneliness, guilt, and the complexities of human relationships through the experiences of a reflective narrator. Set in a café, the story captures his inner turmoil as he observes life around him while grappling with memories of a past romantic relationship with Carlotta, a simple and naïve woman who has since died. The narrator reflects on his emotional detachment and cruelty towards Carlotta, stemming from his own unresolved feelings and past humiliations with other women.
Pavese's narrative intertwines moments of introspection with interactions that reveal the narrator's struggle with self-control and his tendency to lash out in painful ways. The story also delves into the narrator's recollections of a childhood friend, Jean, who tragically committed suicide, illustrating a deeper connection between love, despair, and the notion of escape. As the relationship with Carlotta deteriorates, the narrator's bitterness intensifies, leading to a haunting conclusion when he learns of her death, highlighting the profound impact of emotional neglect and missed connections. Overall, "Suicides" serves as a poignant reflection on the human condition, emphasizing the delicate interplay between love, loss, and the haunting specter of regret.
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Suicides by Cesare Pavese
First published: "Suicidi," 1953 (English translation, 1964)
Type of plot: Psychological
Time of work: 1938
Locale: Turin, Italy
Principal Characters:
The narrator , a civil servantCarlotta , his deceased loverJean , a boyhood friend
The Story
As the narrator sits at a café watching people pass, he falls into a guilt-stricken sense of loneliness. A solitary, brooding character quick to revert to memories of the past, he has suffered for years from delusions and remorse, but now he merely wishes to maintain his self-control and observe as life goes on all around him. This is one of the simple pleasures of his life, although at times it leaves bitter aftertastes. He wishes he were more astute or clever as, for example, women are in justifying their actions even to themselves.
On this particular morning, the narrator is amused by two café customers who are playing a trick on the young woman at the cash register. He is suddenly reminded of his own stupidity in certain situations and that when he reacts against other people, it is usually in a cruel fashion. These thoughts recall memories of Carlotta.
It has been a year since Carlotta died, but the narrator is constantly reminded of her. Carlotta was a simple person who worked as a cashier and lived in a little two-room apartment. He went to her house one evening, made love to her, told her he wished to be alone afterward, and went away for three days. On his return, he treated her coldly and spoke to her very little. When he first met Carlotta, he had just been humiliated by another woman, a bitter blow that had almost driven him to suicide. He understood that he was taking his revenge for one woman's cruel and unjust treatment on another woman, but continued to see Carlotta and leave her in the evenings after indulging his passion. He liked to walk the deserted streets at night; they reminded him of his youth, and allowed him to feel the resentment he harbored against women at its fullest. He thought that Carlotta was naïve and because she was separated from her husband, merely turned to him for some comfort.
One evening, however, they went to the cinema together, they stopped for a drink at a café, and the narrator ended up spending the entire night with Carlotta. This intimacy made him feel tender toward her, but soon he reproached himself for this. It made him furious to see Carlotta looking blissful and content because the woman he really loved never showed such happiness to him. On such occasions, he would walk in the cool morning air and promise himself to be firmer and harsher. On his return, he would tell her that their relationship was strictly physical and that she would never be a part of his life. Often, he would try to avoid Carlotta, and when they did get together he would be cold and distant. Although this made her think of leaving him, she lacked the courage to do so.
Some evenings the narrator talked and talked to Carlotta to the point that he forgot his bitterness and became like a boy again. On these occasions, Carlotta served as an audience and he would offer his opinions on love ("To enjoy love to the full, it must also be a betrayal") and youth ("We fell nobly in love with an actress or a girlfriend and devoted all our finest thoughts to her"). One evening, he tells Carlotta about a boyhood friend, Jean, who committed suicide.
Jean and the narrator loved the same girl, and they often talked together about love and death. Because they were both unhappy youths, the narrator suggested that they kill themselves. They had a revolver, which they took to the hillside to fire one winter day. In a deserted lane, Jean put the revolver into his mouth. The gun went off and killed him.
As the affair with Carlotta dragged on, the narrator became more sullen and cruel. He told Carlotta to go with anyone she wished as long as she does not catch a venereal disease. When she told him that her husband came to see her, he responded that she should try to get him back. After that, they saw each other sparingly at the café or talked briefly on the phone, until one evening when he visited her at her apartment. When he left her, they both knew that it was final. For weeks the narrator waited for a telephone call from Carlotta, but it never came. One day he went to the café where Carlotta worked and noticed that there was another woman at the cash register. He went to her apartment and learned from the concierge that a month earlier they had found her dead in bed, with the gas turned on.