The title sounds like balmy summer evenings, the song of cicadas and a glass of Chianti. But don't be fooled: Ödön von Horváth's Italian night is anything but a vacation romance. Rather, it is a political storm raging in the German provinces of the Weimar Republic. A brilliant, razor-sharp drama about the fatal blindness of a democracy that confronts burgeoning extremism with banalities and internal strife.
Italian night
Ödön von Horváth (1901-1938)
Original language: German
First edition: 1931
What is it about?
In a small town in the southern German province, the local branch of the Republican Protection League is preparing a party: an „Italian Night“. While they argue about lanterns, music and the correct political views of the guests, the fascists are already on the move outside. Councillor Martin desperately tries to make his comrades aware of the real, tangible danger, but his warnings go unheeded in petty bourgeois bickering and personal vanity. In a single evening, the play condenses the tragic inability of the democratic forces to present a united front against the rising National Socialism and shows the oppressive gap between the idyllic façade and the brutal political reality.
About the author
Ödön von Horváth (1901-1938) is considered one of the most clear-sighted and linguistically powerful playwrights of his time. Born in the then Austro-Hungarian town of Fiume (now Rijeka, Croatia), he was a true cosmopolitan who grew up in Belgrade, Budapest, Munich and Berlin. With plays such as Stories from the Vienna Woods and novels like Youth without God he exposed the hypocrisy of the petty bourgeoisie and the creeping destruction of the human soul in the face of political crisis with a precise, almost dissecting eye. As a staunch opponent of the National Socialists, he had to flee Germany in 1933. His life came to an abrupt and tragic end when he was killed by a falling branch during a thunderstorm in Paris in 1938.
Italy reference
This is the ingenious and bitter point of the play: the reference to Italy is purely symbolic. The „Italian Night“ is merely the motto of a garden party in the German provinces. Italy does not exist in this work as a real setting, but as a distant place of longing, as a projection surface for an apolitical, transfiguring romanticism. While the protagonists distract themselves from the gloomy reality with colorful lanterns and Italian-style decorations, the fascist danger marches outside their gates. Horváth masterfully uses the image of Italy to criticize the unworldly flight into the private and aesthetic of a society that closes its eyes to the approaching catastrophe. The play does not show Italy, but rather what happens when people dream of Italy instead of tackling the problems on their own doorstep.
Why read?
Italian night is frighteningly topical. It is a timeless lesson about the fragility of democracy and the dangers of political apathy and inner division. Horváth's language is revealing and direct, his dialogs are masterpieces of character drawing. Anyone who wants to understand how the catastrophe of 1933 came about will find one of the most concise literary answers here. This play is a must-read for any reader interested in history and politics - a warning that has never lost its urgency.
Reading tip
As it is a play, it unfolds its full force when read aloud - perhaps even in a circle of friends with distributed roles. The work is available in numerous inexpensive editions, including from Suhrkamp Verlag. Anyone who would like to delve deeper into Horváth's analytical view of the times after reading this book should read his novel The eternal philistine warmly recommended.
In our weekly column Book about Italy the editorial team of Italy News presents selected works - travel literature, novels, memoirs and non-fiction books that show the country from a variety of perspectives. Immerse yourself with us in foreign views of the Bel Paese, in stories that awaken longing and allow you to rediscover Italy. Perfect for your next vacation, a quiet reading session or simply for daydreaming. Buona lettura!
