Isolation of an Intellectual

In "The Baron in the Trees" (1957), Cosimo Piovasco di Rondò, a young nobleman, decided to live in the branches after refusing to eat a dinner of snails. It was an act of defiance, but some looked at it as an intellectual's retreat into his own world. Italo Calvino, the Cuban-born author, penned a metaphor on independence. Was he thinking of something else? Cosimo witnessed a series of events that would turned Ombrosa, his hometown, upside down. (Cosimo didn't live long to see the Risorgimento, but Calvino was alluding to it in the book's final chapter.) He could've been a participant, playing a role in changing the course of Ombrosa. But he didn't.

In "The Garden of the Finzi-Continis" (1962), Giorgio Bassani used the same premise to depict the fate of Jews in Ferrara, a metropolis in northern Italy. It happened during the years leading to World War II.

The secret garden

The narrator recalled his childhood memories with Alberto and Micòl, who were members of the Jewish populace in Ferrara. They were unlike any sons and daughters, as they were schooled separately from the other Jewish children. The mansion where the siblings lived stood out, the impenetrable walls surrounding the Finzi-Continis' abode kept the garden from the public's view. It was bliss, the narrator fondly recalled, where he spent most of his time with the siblings. Alberto, frail and showing early symptoms of Hodgkins's disease, became his good friend. He was smitten by Micòl's charms.

The narrator had no idea about the Finzi-Continis' special place until his father talked about them. He didn't see them as Jews, their intellect and privelege made them feel they were above everyone else. They were oblivious to the news on Benito Mussolini. They didn't care when Fascism was closing in Ferrara.

Downfall

Bassani, a native of Bologna, wrote a semi-autobiographical book. He came from a prosperous Jewish family, and his lineage gave him limited job opportunities during the war. He was an intellectual.

The likes of the Finzi-Continis clinged to the old ways, where wealth put them in a special place. They did have an idea of what was going on around them, but they chose not to do anything about it. The garden was a playground, believing nothing would happen. The mindset made them vulnerable. The narrator saw it, but he was too young to foresee the consequences. (He was hoping that Micòl would return his affection.)

The novel also depicted the discrimination and persecution of the Jews, with many meeting a tragic end. But this wasn't a representation of the Holocaust in popular culture. The setting revealed the dramatic changes in Italy during the first half of the twentieth century. It was a continuation from the previous century, after the unification. (Giuseppe Garibaldi would never thought that more people would continue what he started.) Many were pragmatic about the happenings, going with the course of history. But there were some who ignored it. Silence followed.