The Jar (La giara, 1928)

Sometimes translated as The Oil Jar (Stanley Appelbaum, Eleven Short Stories/Undici Novelle, New York: Dover, 1994), this eleventh Collection of Stories for a Year came out with the same title in an edition published by Bemporad in 1928.

Five of these fifteen stories were previously published in the collection Tercets (Terzetti; Milan: Treves, 1912): “The Dead and the Living,” “A Call to Duty,” “Think it Over, Giacomino!”, “It’s Nothing Serious,” and “Two Double Beds.” Those same five stories were republished, with the addition of “The Jar” and “The Disbanded League,” in the collection Carnival of the Dead (Il Carnevale dei morti; Florence: Battistelli, 1919). “Tiny Spheres!” and “Another Skylark” on the other hand were included in the earlier collection, When I Was Crazy (Quand’ero matto; Turin: Streglio, 1902). “Fear of Sleep” was collected in Jests of Death and Life (Beffe della morte e della vita) that same year (Florence: Lumachi, 1902). In contrast, “The Dressing Room of Eloquence” was first collected under a different title, “The Thinking Salesman or the Dressing Room of Eloquence” (“Il commesso pensatore o il guardaroba dell’eloquenza”), in the edition Weeds from Our Garden (Erba del nostro orto), Milan: Studio Editoriale Lombardo, 1915).

Thirteen of the fifteen stories first came out in newspapers or magazines. These were: “Fear of Sleep,” which appeared in Roma letteraria, March 25, 1900; “Apprenticeship,” which came out in Il Marzocco, October 22, 1905; “Looking at a Print,” which first bore the title “Happy” (“Allegri”) and was printed on Christmas day in La rivista di Roma, December 25, 1905; “A Call to Duty,” which appeared in Il ventesimo, June 10, 1906; “The Dressing Room of Eloquence,” in the Rassegna contemporanea, February 1908 (this original title, which had been changed in another version, would again become the definitive title starting with the volumes that came after Weeds from Our Yard in 1915, where it had a slight variation as described above); “Two Double Beds,” which graced the pages of Il Marzocco, January 3, 1909; “The Jar,” in the Corriere della Sera, October 20, 1909, “The Illustrious Deceased,” in La lettura, November, 1909; “It’s Nothing Serious,” also in the Corriere della Sera, January 7, 1910; “Think It Over, Giacomino!”, likewise in the Corriere della Sera, February 23, 1910; “The Disbanded League,” again in the Corriere della Sera, June 6, 1910; “The Dead and the Living,” which was first printed in the Rassegna contemporanea, November, 1910; and finally “The Captive,” which came out in Aprutium, 1918 (which was a special issue dedicated to the armed forces).

The short story “Think It Over, Giacomino!” was adapted into a comedy in three acts by the same name, published in Noi e il mondo, April-June 1917, though it premiered the year prior in a Sicilian translation done by Pirandello himself. Gennaro Righelli later directed a film adaptation starring Angelo Musco, which came out with the same title in 1936.

“Apprenticeship” is the source for the subject of a comedy in three acts, The Pleasure of Honesty (Il piacere dell’onestà), which was published in Noi e il mondo (February-March 1908) and premiered in 1917.

“A Call to Duty” is the source for the subject of the comedy Man, Beast, and Virtue (L’uomo, la bestia, la virtù), which was published in Comoedia (September 10, 1919) and premiered the same year.

The three-act comedy But It’s Nothing Serious (Ma non è una cosa seria) was adapted from the short story “It’s Nothing Serious,” which provide source material together with another story, “Mrs. Speranza.” The play was first performed in 1918 and then published by Treves (Milan, 1919).

The short story “The Jar” was the source for a one-act play of the same title, which premiered in 1917 and was then published by Bemporad in 1925. It was subsequently adapted as a film.

The three-act comedy Mrs. Morli, One and Two (La Signora MorIi uno e due) was based on the short story “The Dead and the Living,” together with the story “Stefano Giogli, One and Two” (collected in the Appendix). The play premiered in 1920.

The Jar (La giara) includes the following fifteen short stories:

“The Jar” (“La giara”)
“The Captive” (“La cattura”)
“Looking at a Print” (“Guardando una stampa”)
“Fear of Sleep” (“La paura del sonno”)
“The Disbanded League” (“La Lega disciolta”)
“The Dead and the Living” (“La morta e la viva”)
“Another Skylark” (“Un’altra allodola”)
“A Call to Duty” (“Richiamo all’obbligo”)
“Think About It, Giacomino!” (“Pensaci, Giacomino!”)
“It’s Nothing Serious” (“Non è una cosa seria”)
“Apprenticeship” (“Tirocinio”)
“The Illustrious Deceased” (“L’illustre estinto”)
“The Dressing Room of Eloquence” (“Il guardaroba dell’eloquenza”)
“Tiny Spheres!” (“Pallottoline!”)
“Two Double Beds” (“Due letti a due”)