Name and namelessness in the novel “The Non-Existing Knight” by Italo Calvino

Abstract

Name and namelessness in the novel ”The Non-Existing Knight” by Italo Calvino

Personal names of the tale novel ”The Non-existing Knight” by Italo Calvino are examined from a name theoretical point of view in this paper. Characters are described by making use of the contrastive features ”intellectual/physical” and ”social/individual”. All characters can be positioned alongside the above two axes (the two extremities: the knight, kept together only by his name, representing purely ”intellectual” and ”social”, and his servant, lacking in constant name representing purely ”physical” and ”individual” being). Their situation determines the changes of their names. The moral of the novel (reflected also in the names) is that it is impossible to separate ”individual” from ”social” or ”intellectual” from ”physical”, because on their own they are incapable of existing.