A Christmas Eve
Encyclopedia
A Christmas Eve is a short story by Camillo Boito
which appeared in his anthology of decadence and perversity titled Tales of Vanity (sometimes translated as Vain Tales), which also featured his more famous work, Senso.
The story deals with a young man who is sexually obsessed with his recently deceased twin sister. Deeply depressed
on Christmas Eve
, he picks up a prostitute that bears a striking similarity to his dead sibling
, but spending the night with her only sends him further into complete madness.
This short story is known for bearing a similarity to one of Edgar Allan Poe
's lesser known works, Berenice
.
's secret manuscript. Maria, the main character's nurse
, to her horror comes across this document and narrates its disturbing contents to the reader.
Giorgio is a disturbed young man from Turin
, vacationing in Milan
in hopes of finally coping with the death of his twin sister
Emelia, with whom he has shared a close bond. But by Christmas Eve, his condition only worsens and he starts suffering from horrific stomach pains, unable to eat or drink.
By night fall, he comes across the residence of a young prostitute, whom he appears to have been stalking for days. In his mind, she is the spitting image of his deceased sister. Giorgio invites her to his hotel room. At first, the girl refuses, claiming that she is waiting for her husband, but finally gives in after Giorgio promises to reward her presence.
They arrive at his suite and Giorgio orders all the delicacies
off the menu and, to the young prostitute's delight, a bottle of champagne. They eat and drink. Eventually, her company soothes Giorgio's nerves and his stomach pains subside.
When the girl smiles during dinner, Giorgio becomes fascinated with the girl's perfect white teeth. He asks if he could have one of her teeth in exchange for 500 lire
. The girl laughs and agrees almost immediately, saying that she could easily get a prosthetic for 40 lire and keep the rest.
As the evening progresses, the prostitute entices Giorgio into sex games. He complies hesitantly, slowly realizing that her likeness to Emelia was only in his head and the girl is nothing but a trashy whore.
Eventually, the girl passes out from all the alcohol she consumed. Giorgio looks at her in disgust. Then, after brief hesitation, he grabs a butter knife
and knocks a tooth out of her mouth. He takes it with him as he flees the inn, giving the innkeeper an envelope with 500 lire for the girl when she awakens.
This is where Giorgio's confession ends. Maria then finishes narrating the tale; Giorgio returns home from Milan and his condition quickly worsens. Soon, the depression and the stomach pains leave him bed ridden. Maria realizes that he has only a few days left to live.
As Giorgio lies on his deathbed, Maria receives an unexpected visitor in the form of a coarse city girl, who angirly announces that Giorgio still owes her for her services.
Ignoring Maria's protests, she storms into Giorgio's room. Upon seeing her, the dying man smiles weakly and whispers Emelia's name. He then takes out a necklace he has given his twin sister shortly before she died and places it on the young woman's bare chest. She takes a look at her new trinket and smiles broadly, revealing a hideous hole in her pearly white teeth. Upon seeing this, Giorgio screams in terror and dies.
, this time the vanity of a trashy prostitute and a young man obsessed with his dead sibling.
And sharing a similarity with Boito's earlier work The Body
, the tale delves heavily into necrophilia
, made only more disturbing with the connotations of incest
, since Giorgio's obsession with Emelia is sexual.
Since Giorgio is psychologically disturbed and suffering from a painful illness and delusional fantasies, A Christmas Eve can also be described an example of a short story with an unreliable narrator
.
re-imagining of Senso) is currently in post-production at Colorado
Film School
for a 2011 completion date.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhRKSLkHsaM
Camillo Boito
Camillo Boito was an Italian architect and engineer, and a noted art critic, art historian and novelist.-Biography:...
which appeared in his anthology of decadence and perversity titled Tales of Vanity (sometimes translated as Vain Tales), which also featured his more famous work, Senso.
The story deals with a young man who is sexually obsessed with his recently deceased twin sister. Deeply depressed
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
, he picks up a prostitute that bears a striking similarity to his dead sibling
Sibling
Siblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...
, but spending the night with her only sends him further into complete madness.
This short story is known for bearing a similarity to one of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
's lesser known works, Berenice
Berenice (short story)
"Berenice" is a short horror story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the Southern Literary Messenger in 1835. The story follows a man named Egaeus who is preparing to marry his cousin Berenice. He has a tendency to fall into periods of intense focus during which he seems to separate himself...
.
Plot
Like Senso, the story is framed in the form of the protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
's secret manuscript. Maria, the main character's nurse
Nursemaid
A nursemaid or nursery maid, is mostly a historical term of employment for a female servant in an elite household. In the 21st century, the position is largely defunct, owing to the relatively small number of households who maintain large staffs with the traditional hierarchy.The nursery maid...
, to her horror comes across this document and narrates its disturbing contents to the reader.
Giorgio is a disturbed young man from Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, vacationing in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
in hopes of finally coping with the death of his twin sister
TWINS
Two Wide-Angle Imaging Neutral-Atom Spectrometers are a pair of NASA instruments aboard two United States National Reconnaissance Office satellites in Molniya orbits. TWINS was designed to provide stereo images of the Earth's ring current. The first instrument, TWINS-1, was launched aboard USA-184...
Emelia, with whom he has shared a close bond. But by Christmas Eve, his condition only worsens and he starts suffering from horrific stomach pains, unable to eat or drink.
By night fall, he comes across the residence of a young prostitute, whom he appears to have been stalking for days. In his mind, she is the spitting image of his deceased sister. Giorgio invites her to his hotel room. At first, the girl refuses, claiming that she is waiting for her husband, but finally gives in after Giorgio promises to reward her presence.
They arrive at his suite and Giorgio orders all the delicacies
Delicacy
A delicacy is a food item that is considered highly desirable in certain cultures. Often this is because of unusual flavors or characteristics or because it is rare....
off the menu and, to the young prostitute's delight, a bottle of champagne. They eat and drink. Eventually, her company soothes Giorgio's nerves and his stomach pains subside.
When the girl smiles during dinner, Giorgio becomes fascinated with the girl's perfect white teeth. He asks if he could have one of her teeth in exchange for 500 lire
Lira
Lira is the name of the monetary unit of a number of countries, as well as the former currency of Italy, Malta, San Marino and the Vatican City and Israel. The term originates from the value of a Troy pound of high purity silver. The libra was the basis of the monetary system of the Roman Empire...
. The girl laughs and agrees almost immediately, saying that she could easily get a prosthetic for 40 lire and keep the rest.
As the evening progresses, the prostitute entices Giorgio into sex games. He complies hesitantly, slowly realizing that her likeness to Emelia was only in his head and the girl is nothing but a trashy whore.
Eventually, the girl passes out from all the alcohol she consumed. Giorgio looks at her in disgust. Then, after brief hesitation, he grabs a butter knife
Butter knife
In common usage, a butter knife may refer to any non-serrated table knife designed with a dull edge and rounded point; formal flatware patterns make a distinction between such a place knife and a butter knife...
and knocks a tooth out of her mouth. He takes it with him as he flees the inn, giving the innkeeper an envelope with 500 lire for the girl when she awakens.
This is where Giorgio's confession ends. Maria then finishes narrating the tale; Giorgio returns home from Milan and his condition quickly worsens. Soon, the depression and the stomach pains leave him bed ridden. Maria realizes that he has only a few days left to live.
As Giorgio lies on his deathbed, Maria receives an unexpected visitor in the form of a coarse city girl, who angirly announces that Giorgio still owes her for her services.
Ignoring Maria's protests, she storms into Giorgio's room. Upon seeing her, the dying man smiles weakly and whispers Emelia's name. He then takes out a necklace he has given his twin sister shortly before she died and places it on the young woman's bare chest. She takes a look at her new trinket and smiles broadly, revealing a hideous hole in her pearly white teeth. Upon seeing this, Giorgio screams in terror and dies.
Themes
Like most of Boito's works, the story deals heavily with the exploration of vanityVanity
In conventional parlance, vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness to others. Prior to the 14th century it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant futility. The related term vainglory is now often seen as an archaic synonym for vanity, but...
, this time the vanity of a trashy prostitute and a young man obsessed with his dead sibling.
And sharing a similarity with Boito's earlier work The Body
The Body (short story)
"The Body" is a short story by Camillo Boito. It is a psychological study of two obsessive men, an artist and an anatomist who lust after the beauty of Charlotte, the former's mistress...
, the tale delves heavily into necrophilia
Necrophilia
Necrophilia, also called thanatophilia or necrolagnia, is the sexual attraction to corpses,It is classified as a paraphilia by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. The word is artificially derived from the ancient Greek words: νεκρός and φιλία...
, made only more disturbing with the connotations of incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
, since Giorgio's obsession with Emelia is sexual.
Since Giorgio is psychologically disturbed and suffering from a painful illness and delusional fantasies, A Christmas Eve can also be described an example of a short story with an unreliable narrator
Unreliable narrator
An unreliable narrator is a narrator, whether in literature, film, or theatre, whose credibility has been seriously compromised. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in The Rhetoric of Fiction. This narrative mode is one that can be developed by an author for a number of reasons, usually...
.
Short film adaptation
A short film adaptation, updated to 1945 and titled Christmas Eve '45 (in vain of Tinto Brass'Tinto Brass
Giovanni Brass , better known as Tinto Brass, is an Italian filmmaker. He is noted especially for his work in the erotic genre, with films such as Così fan tutte , Paprika, Monella and Trasgredire...
re-imagining of Senso) is currently in post-production at Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
Film School
Film school
The term film school is used to describe any educational institution dedicated to teaching aspects of filmmaking, including such subjects as film production, film theory, digital media production, and screenwriting. Film history courses and hands-on technical training are usually incorporated into...
for a 2011 completion date.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhRKSLkHsaM