In Silence (In silenzio, 1923)

This sixth group of short stories included thirteen rather than the usual fifteen stories. In Silence was first published in Florence by Bemporad in 1923.

As customary, some of these thirteen short stories had already appeared in other collected volumes: “In Silence” (“In silenzio”), “The Other Son” (“L’altro figlio”), “The Wet Nurse” (“La balia”), “The Vigil” (“La veglia”), “Back to the Fields!” (“Alla zappa!”), and “A Voice” (“Una voce”) in the 1906 Treves edition Two-faced Erma (Erma Bifronte); “The Crow of Mizzaro” (“Il corvo di Mizzaro”), “Death Is Upon Him” (“La morte addosso”), “The Forgotten Mask” (“La maschera dimenticata”), “The Little Garden Up There” (“Il giardinetto lassù”) appeared in Il carnevale dei morti, published by Battistelli in Florence in 1919. Interestingly, “The Little Garden Up There” appeared in the very early volume from 1902, Jests of Life and Death (Beffe della vita e della morte), which was printed by the Florentine publisher Lumachi.

All the short stories in this Collection had previously appeared in literary journals and magazines:
“The Little Garden Up There” in Il Marzocco with the title “Grandpa Bauer” (“Nonno Bauer”), December 5, 1897; “Back to the Fields!,” in Il Marzocco on September 7, 1902; “The Crow of Mizzaro,” titled “Crow 77, Donkey 23, Fall 80” (“Corvo 77, asino 23, caduta 80”), in Il Marzocco, October 26, 1902; “The Wet Nurse,” in La Nuova Antologia, June 1903; “The Vigil,” Il Marzocco, on May 2, 1904; “A Voice,” in Regina, September 20, 1904; “In Silence,” in Novissima, albo d’arte e lettere, in 1905; “The Other Son,” in La letteratura, February, 1905; “That’s Fine” (“Va bene”), in La nuova antologia, November 1, 1905; “The Evil Spirit” (“Lo spirito maligno”), titled “A Bronze Plate and Four Cents” (“Una piastra e quattro centesimi”), in Corriere della Sera, June 6, 1910; “The Forgotten Mask” with the title “How Cirinciò Momentarily Forgot to Be Himself” (“Come Cirinciò si dimenticò per un momento di essere lui”), in La lettura, August 1918; “Death Is Upon Him,” titled “Night-Time Coffee” (“Caffè notturno”), in La rassegna, August 15, 1908; “Such Is Life” (“Pena di vivere così”), in Il nuovo romanzo mensile, December 15, 1920.

The stories “The Vigil” and “Vexilla Regis…”, which was published in the Collection The Journey (Il viaggio), served as source material for the 1920 three-act comedy As Before, Better Than Before (Come prima meglio di prima). The short story “Death Is Upon Him” was the source for L’uomo dal fiore in bocca (The Man with a Flower in His Mouth), one of Pirandello’s most famous one-act plays, staged in Rome in 1923 by the “Indipendenti” Company (Teatro degli Indipendenti) directed by Anton Giulio Bragaglia.

The tale “The Other Son” was adapted into a one-act play with the same title in 1923; it was also the source, together with “Black Shawl” (“Scialle nero”), for the three-act comedy The Graft (L’innesto), staged in 1919 in Milan, at the Teatro Manzoni.

In 1930, the story “In Silence” was adapted for the screen by film director Gennaro Righelli, who produced The Love Song (La canzone dell’amore), the first sound-musical film in Italy.

The thirteen short stories contained in the Collection In Silence are:

“In Silence” (“In silenzio”)
“The Other Son” (“L’altro figlio”)
“Death Is Upon Him” (“La morte addosso”)
“That’s Fine” (“Va bene”)
“The Little Garden Up There” (“Il giardinetto lassù”)
“The Forgotten Mask” (“La maschera dimenticata”)
“The Wet Nurse” (“La balia”)
“The Crow of Mizzaro” (“Il corvo di Mìzzaro”)
“The Vigil” (“La veglia”)
“The Evil Spirit” (“Lo spirito malign”)
“Back to the Fields!” (“Alla zappa!”)
“A Voice” (“Una voce”)
“Such Is Life” (“Pena di vivere così”)