Introduction in English (by the translator):

Natale sul Reno (Christmas on the Rhine) is a semi-autobiographical account of Pirandello’s life when he studied at a university in Bonn, Germany. The story is about a Sicilian boy living in Germany who helps his friend, Jenny, organize a Christmas celebration for her family. Pirandello emphasizes the narrator’s foreignness in the story because of his dislike of the cold, winter temperatures, as well as his unawareness of Christmas traditions in Germany. The narrator has been away from his home in Sicily, and he expresses melancholic emotions throughout the story. Pirandello emphasizes how humans often hide their emotions for fear of judgement from others, and therefore they do not reveal their true selves to the public. The narrator hides his sadness from Jenny, and instead he supports Jenny in her efforts to bring her family back together for the holiday following her father’s tragic passing. Pirandello had a relationship with a woman named Jenny who lived in Bonn, and the narrator has a deep fondness for Jenny in the story. Pirandello expresses his own love for the real Jenny across the interactions between the two characters. Natale sul Reno highlights the human desire for companionship in times of solitude. However, through the narrator’s perspective, Pirandello expresses his own struggle of overcoming his feelings of absence and loneliness even though he has the love of another person.

“This translation was submitted in May 2022 for publication in the digital edition Stories for a Year, eds. Lisa Sarti and Michael Subialka: https://www.pirandellointranslation.org/”

This is a translation of Luigi Pirandello’s short story Natale sul Reno. The translation is by Jake DeCarli, a student in Tullio Pagano’s 2022 Senior Seminar at Dickinson College. DeCarli wrote the brief introduction in English, which is followed by the translation and original text.

Pirandello, Luigi. Natale sul Rine. Translated by Jake DeCarli. Tullio Pagano's 2022 Senior Seminar, Dickinson College.

Tullio Pagano is a professor of Italian at Dickinson College.

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