CARLO COLLODI: BIOGRAPHY AND WORKS OF THE CREATOR OF PINOCCHIO - BIOGRAPHIES - 2024

Carlo Collodi (1826-1890) was an Italian writer and journalist, known worldwide for having written one of the most famous children's stories in the entire West: The Adventures of Pinocchio (1882). This text was illustrated by Enrico Mazzanti and has been translated into more than 250 languages, including the braille system.

Likewise, The Adventures of Pinocchio is one of the best-selling works of all time. In fact, from the moment of its publication the book has undergone various adaptations throughout history, such as films, operas, plays, audio recordings and ballets.

Carlo Collodi was an Italian writer and journalist. Source: The Fondazione Nazionale Carlo Collodi.

The success of this children's story even inspired renowned writer Alexey Tolstoy to write a famous Russian adaptation. This version was titled as The Adventures of Buratino, since Burattino means "puppet" in Italian.

It should be noted that Collodi at first had not conceived the story of Pinocchio as a fairy tale. In the early versions, the puppet was hanged for his innumerable mistakes. Later, the writer decided to change the ending by making the puppet turn into a real boy.

Some authors affirm that Collodi through Pinocchio made an allegory about the formation of human beings based on virtue, truth and honor. In other words, for the author the correct path was reached through wisdom and knowledge. Therefore, the ability to overcome difficulties is what makes a subject a real person.

Biography

Carlos Lorenzo Filippo Giovanni Lorenzini, known as Carlo Collodi, was born on November 24, 1826 in the city of Florence (Italy). During his school years Collodi had the opportunity to attend seminary, which allowed him to study philosophy and rhetoric. This also gave him access to certain texts prohibited by the Church and by the Grand Duke of Tuscany.

He started working for the first time at age 18 in a bookstore. Later, he became interested in politics and wrote his first literary texts for the newspaper Il Lampione. However, this medium with a satirical approach was censored by the Duke in 1849. The newspaper remained inactive until 1860.

In 1856, Collodi managed to enter the literary world after publishing a novel entitled In vapore. During this period he was also active in other newspapers such as Il Fanfulla. In 1859 he had to participate in the Second Italian War of Independence, to later return to the city of Florence.

Starting in 1860, the journalist worked for the Theater Censorship Commission. While engaged in these tasks, he was able to write several stories and some satirical tales, such as Storie allegre (1887), Macchiette (1880) and Occhi e nasi (1881).

In 1875, Collodi was introduced to children's texts through the translation of one of the stories by Charles Perrault, a French writer dedicated to fairy tales. The text was published under the name Racconti delle fate.

A year later he wrote another text entitled Giannettino, which was inspired by another work entitled Giannetto, by the writer Alessandro Luigi Parravicini. Collodi wanted to build a sympathetic character that would serve to express his convictions in the form of allegory. For this reason, in 1880 he began to write Historia de un puppet (Storia di un burattino).

This work was published weekly in an Italian newspaper created exclusively for children called Il Giornale dei Bambini. Finally, Collodi passed away in his hometown on October 26, 1890 at the age of 64. His remains rest in the Cimitero delle Porte Sante.

Plays

Some of the most important works of Carlo Collodi were the following:

- Giannettino, published in 1876.

- Storie allegre and Racconti delle fate, both from 1887.

- Occhi e nassi, registered in 1881.

- Macchiette, dating from 1880.

However, the most prominent of all and the most popular was Le aventure di Pinocchio. Storia di un burrattino (1883)

The context of Pinocchio

Soledad Porras, in her text On the centenary of Carlo Collodi, Pinocchio yesterday and today (1992) established that at the end of the 17th century the first fairy tales were born, specifically in France. After this, the children's stories reached a rapid diffusion throughout the European continent.

Rousseau's revolutionary and pedagogical theories contributed to the development of these texts, since they established that every child had the right to have their own feelings and thoughts. From these notions another orientation was given to children's books.

The character of Pinocchio and the break with model structures

In the 19th century, authors such as Martini Pistelli appeared, whose books followed a catholic and pedagogical structure where the child was considered more an object than a subject. Instead, the character of Pinocchio is responsible for all his actions, which meant a rupture within the perception of the children's world.

Porras also affirms that the child-puppet is a representation of childhood, since in him curiosity, naivety, kindness and the constant struggle between duty and want are combined. For this reason, Pinocchio became the idol of children; a clear example of ignorance and naivety.

Likewise, it can be said that Pinocchio's didactic tone is superior to that of the children's texts of the 18th century. The character of Pinocchio differs from the others in the fact that he is a normal child, not a model child.

Furthermore, the society where this character develops is neither conventional nor exemplary: both subject and environment are portrayed by the author with all their nuances, including the good aspects and the bad aspects.

The author also states that the doll is a symbol of Italian society, since it is only capable of maturing through misfortune and pain. However, the character does not renounce to contemplate in a nostalgic way that phase where he passes from naivety to knowledge.

Other aspects of the work

Along with Pinocchio, in the 19th century other texts were developed throughout Europe and America that followed the same Collodi conception of childhood. For example, Alice in Wonderland (1865), Tom Sawyer (1870) and Heidi (1850).

It can be said that Pinocchio is a character that evolves from the experience of the mistakes that were personally overcome. Although the puppet has teachers who give advice, they never intervene directly in the decisions of the disciple.

In this way, Collodi manifested in his work the importance of learning through mistakes. These allow the character to find wisdom and understand the world around him.

In general terms, it can also be said that Pinocchio's text is influenced by the classic adventure novels. Likewise, the work shares certain similarities with the Spanish picaresque novel, since there are similarities between the puppet and the figure of the rogue.

Illustration of Pinocchio by Enrico Mazzanti. Source: Enrico Mazzanti (1852-1910)

What is the play about

The play begins with the story of the carpenter Geppetto, a humble man who wanted to have a child. One day he came up with the idea of ​​making a wooden puppet with the figure of a child. However, before it was finished, it came to life and was transformed into a disobedient and mischievous child, whom the carpenter decided to call Pinocchio.

When Pinocchio managed to control the movement of his legs, he decided to escape from the house. The carpenter chased him and caught him. For this behavior, Geppetto lectured him in front of people, who believed that he was a bad father and decided to take him to jail.

Pinocchio made his way home where he encountered a talking cricket. The insect tells him that what he did to the carpenter was not right. However, Pinocchio became angry and threw a hammer at the cricket, killing it.

Subsequently, Geppetto returned home. Upon entering his home, he realized that Pinocchio had scorched his feet with the cauldron, so he had to completely rebuild them. Thanks to this, Pinocchio promised to attend school.

However, the mischievous puppet decided to sell her study book to attend the puppet theater. During this period, Pinocchio suffered several setbacks with the puppeteer but managed to get away with it.

The cricket introduced himself to Pinocchio and again advised him, but the puppet continued to ignore him. In the course of his adventures, the puppet met a fairy, who took care of him for a time. However, the puppet was not sincere with the fairy and for this reason his nose grew.

The final learning

After this, Pinocchio continued to have tragic adventures from which he emerged triumphant and promising to behave better, but he always returned to being mischievous. This is kept cyclical until the puppet is swallowed by a shark.

Inside the stomach of this animal, Pinocchio found Geppetto. Together they put together a plan to escape the shark's body. When going out to the open sea, the carpenter cannot swim, so he climbs on Pinocchio to stay afloat.

After this experience, Pinocchio decided never to be fooled by anyone again and promised to stop being naughty. Therefore, he dedicated himself to helping his father in the workshop. Thanks to these good works, the puppet stopped being a puppet and became a real child.

References

1. Collodi, C. (1986) The adventures of Pinocchio: story of a puppet. Retrieved on December 4, 2019 from Google books: books.google.com
2. Porras, S. (1992) On the centenary of Carlo Collodi. Pinocchio yesterday and today. Retrieved on December 4, 2019 from Core.ac.uk
3. Rojas, B. (2009) Underlying cultural elements in the work Pinocho. Retrieved on December 4, 2019 from Semioses: apl.unisuam.edu.br
4. SA (sf) Carlo Collodi. Retrieved on December 4, 2019 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org
5. SA (nd) The Adventures of Pinocchio. Retrieved on December 4, 2019 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org
6. Zipes, J. (1996) Towards a Theory of the fairy-tale film: the case of Pinocchio. Retrieved on December 4, 2019 from muse.jhu.edu
7. Zipes, J. (2013) Happily ever after: fairy tales, children, and the culture industry. Retrieved on December 4, 2019 from content.taylorfrancis.com