The Dialectic of Metafiction and Neorealism in Calvinos Baron in the T

The Dialectic of Metafiction and Neorealism in Calvinos Baron in the Trees. I agree to my books being read as existential or as structural works, as Marxist or neo-Kantian, Freudianly or Jungianly but above all I am glad to see that no one key will scatter the lock.The above quotation perhaps shows more than anything else the ambiguity of Calvinos works. The obsession to label all narratives arises from our compulsion to raise sense of this world, as literary generic categories form part of our cosmologies. Calvinos work however, eludes us by drawing upon multifarious techniques and images to create a narrative that defies all generic conventions. Attempting to arrive at a sole conclusion with a single key to unlock Calvinos narrative is to underestimate its full potential, for no single label justifies the ambiguity of his work. Indeed, the bulk of the attendance focused on Calvinos work is derived mainly from its elusiveness, and its inability to be placed into any particular ca tegory. Critics have long been divided over the polemics of his work, one profound aspect of which lies in whether or not Calvinos fiction can be considered as a fairytale or as a realist story. realismo a genus Carica fiabiasca and fiaba a carica realistica (realism infused with fairytale and fairytale infused with realism). (Cavino, Introduction) What I am interested in is how the notions of metafiction and neorealism work in Calvinos narratives. Undoubtedly, as I have established earlier, it is not possible to label his work as falling into either one or the other generic category. Rather, I would say that both neorealist tendencies and metafictional elements work to make Calvinos short story. Antithetical as these two notions are in ... ...inburgh UP. 1993. Calvino, Italo. Baron In The Trees Our Ancestors. Trans. Archibald Colquhoun. London Mandarin Paperbacks, 1992. ---. Introduction to gli amori difficili, 2nd ed vii. Turin Einuadi, 1970.Cannon, JoAnn. Postmodern Italian Fic tion. London and Toronto Associated University Presses, 1989. Carter, Albert Howard. Italo Calvino Metamorphoses of Fantasy, Studies in Speculative Fiction. Ann Arbor, Michigan UMI Research Press, 1987.Gabriele, Tommasina. Italo Calvino Eros and Language. London and Toronto Associated University Presses, 1994. Lodge, David. Metafiction. The Art Of Fiction. New York Viking, 1993. 206-210. Waugh, Patricia. What is Metafiction and why are they saying Such Horrible Things somewhat It? Metafiction. Ed. Mark Currie. Harlow Longman, 1995. 39-54. USP Home Literary Studies Students Projects