The Cloven Viscount: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Cloven Viscount" features a unique narrative centered around Viscount Medardo of Terralba, who is split into two distinct halves after a cannonball injury during battle. One half embodies evil and sadism, terrorizing the local populace, while the other represents pure virtue, performing good deeds that often aim to counteract the harm caused by its counterpart. This duality creates a significant conflict within the small principality, as the people grapple with the opposing influences of "The Bad 'Un" and "The Good 'Un." The story is narrated by Medardo's perceptive young nephew, who observes the unfolding events with a blend of innocence and insight.
Supporting characters enrich the narrative, including Dr. Trelawney, an eccentric and possibly dubious physician, and Ezekiel, the disillusioned leader of exiled Huguenots. Other notable figures include Esau, Ezekiel’s rebellious son, and Pamela, a clever peasant girl who navigates the dangerous advances of both halves of the Viscount. The lepers of Pratofungo, led by the merrymaking Galateo, and Sebastiana, the family nurse exiled to live among them, further illustrate the complexities of social dynamics in Terralba. The interwoven character arcs ultimately emphasize themes of duality, morality, and the quest for wholeness.
The Cloven Viscount: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Italo Calvino
First published: Il visconte dimezzato, 1952 (English translation, 1962)
Genre: Novel
Locale: Terralba, a small state on the Italian coast
Plot: Fable
Time: The late eighteenth century
Viscount Medardo of Terralba, a young Italian nobleman from a small principality on the coast of Italy. Fighting against the Turks, he is split in two by a cannonball; one surviving half is saved by doctors, and he returns home. Once there, he displays a perverted and evil nature, shown especially in his penchant for splitting things—such as fruits, frogs, and mushrooms—into two parts. His courtship of the peasant girl Pamela further reveals his sadistic inclinations. The other part of Medardo, which also survived and was healed by hermits, returns to Terralba; this portion of the Viscount is all virtue and makes his presence known by a series of good deeds, many of which inevitably require redressing the harm done by his evil half. The people of Terralba are oppressed and terrified by the bad portion of the Viscount and soon find themselves harassed and limited by the good portion. These opposing parts become known to the people of Terralba as “The Bad 'Un” and “The Good 'Un.” Inevitably, the two sides come into a conflict that can be resolved only by their reunion.
The narrator, Medardo's nephew, seven or eight years old. A shrewd and observant child with much common sense, he serves as a generally accurate and unbiased witness of events. Left mostly to himself by his family, he is free to roam the hills and coasts of Terralba and so follow the other characters throughout the novel.
Dr. Trelawney, a shipwrecked English physician living in Terralba. In his sixties, Dr. Trelawney is a short man with a face lined like an old chestnut and long, thin legs. He wears an old coat with fading trimmings, a tricorn hat, and a wig. He has traveled the world, including voyages with the famous Captain Cook, but knows nothing of the globe because he remained in his cabin playing cards the whole time. He is immensely fond of cancarone, the harsh and heavy local wine, and he practices very little medicine, seeming to be afraid of the body and disease. There is some doubt as to whether he is actually a medical doctor. Instead of healing, he conducts implausible scientific research, such as his attempts to capture will-o'-the-wisps and preserve their essence in bottles.
Ezekiel, a large, bearded, dour man, leader of the exiled Huguenots who live on a hilltop in Terralba. Although banished because of their religion, the Huguenots have lost all outward traces of its form or content and live a bleak existence best expressed in Ezekiel's frequent oath: “Famine and plague.”
Esau, the youngest son of Ezekiel. He smokes, drinks, steals, and cheats at dice and cards. He is ignorant of religion and indifferent to the threats of his father.
Galateo, one of the lepers who lives in the village of Pratofungo on the coast of Terralba. Exiled because of their physical condition, the lepers have given themselves up to a life of revelry, merriment, and debauchery, hiding their deformities under garlands of flowers.
Pamela, a young peasant girl, plump and barefoot. She tends goats and ducks and lives in a small cottage with her animals and family. Although naïve and unschooled, she is clever enough to recognize the dangers in the courtship of “The Bad 'Un” and hides in a cave in the mountains until discovered by “The Good Un.” Sensibly, she refrains from marriage to either half of the Viscount, instinctively preferring a complete husband.
Sebastiana, the old nurse of the Medardo family. She has seen generations of them come and go, and perhaps because of this knowledge she is exiled by “The Bad 'Un” to live with the lepers in Pratofungo.