Read Online History by Elsa Morante, Lily Tuck, William Weaver - Free Book Online Page B
Tags: Literary, Historical fiction, Historical, Literature & Fiction, Contemporary, Military, Genre Fiction, War, Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction, italian
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her pillow and the rest of the time always on her p�rson, pinned inside a stocking.
In her inexperienced mind, which was already clouding over, she as sumed that, with such a sum, she could pay for any foreign journey, even an exotic one! At certain moments, like a young girl, she would daydream about metropolises that, as a spinster, in her Bovaresque dreams, she had longed for as sublime destinations : London, Parisi But suddenly she would remember that she was alone now; and how could a lone old woman fi her way amid those cosmopolitan and tumultuous throngs?! If only Giuseppe were wi her, then traveling would indeed still be beautiful! But Giuseppe no longer existed, he was not to be found here or anywhere. Perhaps even his body, so big and heavy, had now dissolved into the earth. There was no longer anyone on earth to reassure her in her terrors, as he used to do, saying to her: "How silly you are! You crazy little thing!"
Though she continued proposing various plans to herself, examining all the continents and countri for her, in the enti globe, there was no place. And yet, as the days went by, the necessity, the urgency of esca were impressed on her feverish brain.
In the course of the last months, she had heard, perhaps over the radio, talk of Jewish emigrati from all Europe to Palestine. She knew absolutely nothing about Zionism, if she even knew the word. And of Palestine she knew only that it was the Biblical homeland of the Hebrews and that its capital was Jerusalem. But still, she came to the conclusion
4 2 H I S T O R Y . . . . . . 1 9 - -
that the only place where she could be received, as a fugitive Jew among a people of Jews, was Palestine.
And as the summer heat was already advancing, one evening she suddenly decided to fl then and there, even without a passport. She could cross the border illegally, or else she would stow away in the hold of a ship, as she had heard about in tales of illegal emigrants.
She took no baggage with her, not even a change of linen. She had on her, as always, her three thousand lire hidden inside the stocking. And at the last minute, noticing one of those old Calabrian cloaks Giuseppe used to wear in winter still hanging from a hook in the hall, she took it along, folded over her arm, with the thought of protecting herself if perhaps she went to a cold climate.
It is certain she was already delirious. But still she must have reasoned that to go from Cosenza to Jerusalem overland was not a good idea, be cause she headed for the sea, choosing the alternative of a ship as the only solution. Some people vaguely recall having seen her, in her little summer dress of black artifi silk with a blue pattern on the last evening train heading for the be at Paola. And in fact it is there, in that area, that she was found. Perhaps she wandered for a while along that beach without ports, searching for some freighter fl an Asiatic flag, more lost and confused than a fi boy who runs away to sign on as a cabin boy and see the world.
In any event, though such endurance seems incredible in her condi tion, we have to believe that, from the station where she arrived, she covered a long distance on foot. In fact, the specifi spot where they found her on the sand is several miles away from the Paola beach, towards Fus ca Along that stretch of the coastline, beyond the railroad track, there are hilly fi of corn whose swaying expanse in the darkness, to her crazed eyes, may have created the effect of the sea opening out ahead.
It was a beautiful moonless night, calm and starry Perhaps she was reminded of that one little song from her parts that she could sing :
what a fine night this is for stealing girls.
But even in that serene and tepid air, at a certain point in her walk, she felt cold. And she covered herself with that man's cloak she had brought along, taking care to fasten the buckle at the throat. It was an old mantle of dark brown country wool, which had been the right length for
In her inexperienced mind, which was already clouding over, she as sumed that, with such a sum, she could pay for any foreign journey, even an exotic one! At certain moments, like a young girl, she would daydream about metropolises that, as a spinster, in her Bovaresque dreams, she had longed for as sublime destinations : London, Parisi But suddenly she would remember that she was alone now; and how could a lone old woman fi her way amid those cosmopolitan and tumultuous throngs?! If only Giuseppe were wi her, then traveling would indeed still be beautiful! But Giuseppe no longer existed, he was not to be found here or anywhere. Perhaps even his body, so big and heavy, had now dissolved into the earth. There was no longer anyone on earth to reassure her in her terrors, as he used to do, saying to her: "How silly you are! You crazy little thing!"
Though she continued proposing various plans to herself, examining all the continents and countri for her, in the enti globe, there was no place. And yet, as the days went by, the necessity, the urgency of esca were impressed on her feverish brain.
In the course of the last months, she had heard, perhaps over the radio, talk of Jewish emigrati from all Europe to Palestine. She knew absolutely nothing about Zionism, if she even knew the word. And of Palestine she knew only that it was the Biblical homeland of the Hebrews and that its capital was Jerusalem. But still, she came to the conclusion
4 2 H I S T O R Y . . . . . . 1 9 - -
that the only place where she could be received, as a fugitive Jew among a people of Jews, was Palestine.
And as the summer heat was already advancing, one evening she suddenly decided to fl then and there, even without a passport. She could cross the border illegally, or else she would stow away in the hold of a ship, as she had heard about in tales of illegal emigrants.
She took no baggage with her, not even a change of linen. She had on her, as always, her three thousand lire hidden inside the stocking. And at the last minute, noticing one of those old Calabrian cloaks Giuseppe used to wear in winter still hanging from a hook in the hall, she took it along, folded over her arm, with the thought of protecting herself if perhaps she went to a cold climate.
It is certain she was already delirious. But still she must have reasoned that to go from Cosenza to Jerusalem overland was not a good idea, be cause she headed for the sea, choosing the alternative of a ship as the only solution. Some people vaguely recall having seen her, in her little summer dress of black artifi silk with a blue pattern on the last evening train heading for the be at Paola. And in fact it is there, in that area, that she was found. Perhaps she wandered for a while along that beach without ports, searching for some freighter fl an Asiatic flag, more lost and confused than a fi boy who runs away to sign on as a cabin boy and see the world.
In any event, though such endurance seems incredible in her condi tion, we have to believe that, from the station where she arrived, she covered a long distance on foot. In fact, the specifi spot where they found her on the sand is several miles away from the Paola beach, towards Fus ca Along that stretch of the coastline, beyond the railroad track, there are hilly fi of corn whose swaying expanse in the darkness, to her crazed eyes, may have created the effect of the sea opening out ahead.
It was a beautiful moonless night, calm and starry Perhaps she was reminded of that one little song from her parts that she could sing :
what a fine night this is for stealing girls.
But even in that serene and tepid air, at a certain point in her walk, she felt cold. And she covered herself with that man's cloak she had brought along, taking care to fasten the buckle at the throat. It was an old mantle of dark brown country wool, which had been the right length for
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