about 100 pages in and am absolutely loving everything: the obscure references to Greek/Roman myths+philosophy (Penates! *squees in nerdy Latin-fangirl joy*), the way the cities seem to blend and meld around each other to create one, even the anachronistic bits Sarah mentioned. I think the reason is this (and I could be completely wrong but anyways) cities are made by those who see them, not those who create them; by those who inhabit it, but also those who visit it. IN the same way that everyone percieves colors differently (everyone remembers cones and rods, yes?) each inhabitant and traveler sees the city, sees themselves or who they want to be reflected in the city and either tries to abandon the parts they don't like or embrace the parts that are so lovingly shown to them in the best and brightest that each place has to offer. Life's what you make of it and all that.
Also, love how all the cities so far seem to be named after women or in a feminine fashion. Pyrrha is the feminine of Pyrrhus-->Pyrrhic victory anyone? "As soon as I set foot there, everything i had imagined was forgotten;Pyrrha had become what is Pyrrha" (92) and suddenly all the magic of imagination was gone. Polo could still associate with the other cities but he had forgotten his original imagined image of it and thus some of the love for it faded "Memory's images, once they are fixed in words, are erased" (87)
I think maybe all the references to Roman and Greek literature are also possibly warning to Kublai (from the author as the Roman Empire would continue about 100 years after the Yuan Dynasty he founded in China fell apart though the RE was kinda falling anyway with corruption that began with Augustus, it's founder...apologies I am a history nerd) of what happens to the empire when one expands too far or is too harsh or lets too much corruption ensue...essentially it's Spider-man 3 (AVPM ref there). like Polo's metaphor on pg 82 "without stones there is no arch" without control of the empire, anarchy ensues and then there IS no empire.
I think basically, it's a comment on human nature. There's love/hate(54) jealousy (18) despair, confusion, everything that makes life what it is. Because it's the people who make the city and the people who sustain it (Senatus Populus Que Romanus) and maybe make it worth living in, visiting, imagining, or dreaming of.
Allons-y!
first of all, glad to see someone loved the book as much as i did!
ReplyDeleteyour comment about the need for control of the empire got me thinking about the book as a whole. Kublai (who is supposed to be the one in control of the empire) is himself creating a few of the cities; he actually describes some of them to Polo, who affirms that they exist. Furthermore, Polo and Kublai often are not actually talking-that is, Polo isn't actually describing cities to him. He's gesturing and demonstrating and many times Calvino seems say that the two were just sitting in silence, each imagining their own cities. I think (in this book at least) Kublai's control (or illusion of control) comes from his ownership of the cities that are a part of his empire. I thought it was interesting, though, that the cities didn't seem part of any larger empire. Kublai created them almost as individual organisms, rather than as feelers of his empire; I think that gives an interesting insight into the character Calvino created for Kublai.
Nicole and Carolyn, you both have great points about the purpose behind Calvino's book. As you say, while Marco Polo appears to be narrating/describing the cities, we begin to see Kublai Kahn take on the role of creator at times. Calvino identifies the immense subjectivity that goes into the creation of cities since we all view them differently. So, what role does the reader play in this book? Do we have any agency in the creation of these cities?
ReplyDeleteAlso, going off of Sarah's comment about the anachronistic nature of some of the contemporary cities Marco Polo describes, why do you think Calvino (in 1972) is writing about a dialogue between Kublai Kahn and Marco Polo in the 13th century? What does life in 1972 have to do with the Yuan Dynasty or the Roman Empire (as Carolyn points out)?
I think the reader has a huge role to play in the creation of the cities, but i also think it's no more of a role than in any other book or piece of literature. A reader always brings their own thoughts, ideas, knowledge, and creativity to anything that they read. Everyone views the cities differently, just as everyone views literature differently. Calvino magnifies this quality of the reader experience because he is telling us that everyone will see these cities differently. However, this reader/book relationship will always be there, even attention isn't called to it as much.
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