On occasions like Halloween , reflection on masks comes almost automatically... and who better to address the topic than Nobel Prize winner Luigi Pirandello? Not only are we forced to wear one at this time of year, but, as the Sicilian writer liked to repeat, we are forced to change faces very often throughout our lives.
Between masks and faces
In his literary masterpiece “One, none and a hundred thousand"Pirandello claimed that in life we meet many masks and very few faces, and that each of us is one, but none at the same time, as well as a hundred thousand people all together. Yes, because we are always forced to adopt behaviors and dimensions that society imposes on us, being "masked" by the dogmas that are imposed on us, without being able to express our true and profound self. personality, except in a few, intimate cases. Some examples? Someone with a very impulsive temperament, in the workplace, will have to replace their instinctive nature with the mask of a docile and understanding person; unless they want to risk their job. The same goes for someone with a rather party-loving nature and, when they meet a man or woman to court, put on the mask of a calm and always faithfulLikewise, how many of us have put on the “I’m sober” mask after a party with our friends in front of our parents?
In Pirandello, therefore, the mask is a central symbol for exploring identity, society, and the conflict between being and appearing. In his works, such as the aforementioned and " Six Characters in Search of an Author ," Pirandello represents the mask as a tool individuals use to adapt to social expectations while trying to protect their authentic selves, which ultimately becomes dispersed into multiple versions. This fragmentation of identity manifests itself as the tension between the "face"—the real, private, elusive being—and the "mask," which is the public perception of the individual, codified by social roles.
Pirandello and the sociological mask
From a sociological perspective, Pirandello's mask anticipates concepts such as those later developed by Erving Goffman in his theory of face-to-face interaction, in which "self-presentation" becomes a social performance. Pirandello describes, in a certain sense, a world in which each individual is "one, none, and a hundred thousand" because, in the attempt to meet all social expectations, identity is continually transformed. Pirandello's man never possesses a stable identity , but is forced to assume multiple masks that ultimately represent nothing more than a prison. He is trapped in a constant "performing" for others, thus losing the possibility of being authentic.
In Pirandello, the mask represents a dual nature : on the one hand, it protects the individual, offering him a recognized role within society; on the other, it alienates him from himself, leading to an internal fracture and a sense of existential isolation. Pirandello's theatre, in this sense, becomes a metaphor for life, where fiction and truth intertwine, and the search for one's identity becomes a never-ending struggle between the mask imposed by society and the individual's desire to discover who he really is.
Luigi Pirandello was absolutely right: masks aren't just worn for Halloween or Carnival , but we're forced to temper our character traits at all times, to follow the rules society imposes on us, in order to coexist peacefully in our civilization. After all, man is a social animal , and change, even if temporary and depending on the situation, is part of his nature.
Maria De Luca (with editorial update dated October 31, 2024)
