The Falling Girl by Dino Buzzati

In the story "The Falling Girl" by Dino Buzzati, the author creates a powerful metaphor. The young girl who jumps off the skyscraper encounters several people and has multiple experiences during her fall that alludes to different life stages. In the beginning, as a young woman of promise, Buzzati places "the city below shining in the dusk" (Shapard 29). Positioning Marta this way creates the panoramic sense that Marta has her whole life ahead of her and endless possibilities. In other words, Marta had the world at her feet for the taking.

Buzzati also creates an image of the city, as a thriving and vibrant being, much like the youthful woman taking it in: "the city became a sweet abyss burning with pulsating lights" (Shapard 29). It's no coincidence that Buzzati gives the city such an electric and youthful vibe. It sets the stage for the sustaining of his metaphor.

While Marta's falling, Buzzati returns from the literal event of her descent to the metaphor of her life as a free fall when he says, ""you have your entire life before you," they told her, "why are you in such a hurry?"" (Shapard 30).  Stepping out of the reality of the girl's fall, Buzzati forces the reader to consider the transience of our lives on earth. In the story, she didn't have the ability to step into the party, but by returning to the metaphor, the reader makes the connection between the literal descent and the figurative mid-air conversing taking place.

From the naive and vibrant, Buzzati transitions Marta's surroundings to reflect the passage of time: "several of them were young people as old or older than she, and weary of the day by now, every once in a while they raised their eyes from their duties and from typewriters" (Shapard 30).  The people in the lower floors weren't the "beautiful people" of before. They were her age or older, many of whom toiled and dressed more simply. Here, along with the metaphor of time's passage, one could comment on Buzzati's implicit commentary on economic class.

The metaphor for time's passage is capped with an image of heaven represented as the entrance to a large party. Buzzati hints at this metaphor when he writes, "heaven help her if she missed it" (Shapard 32). By placing this phrase within the mind of Marta, the author can subtly bring the metaphor to the light even if just a toe.

""An old woman," the wife answered. "A decrepit old woman. She looked frightened" (Shapard 33).  It's this image that solidifies the metaphor's effect, suggesting that the woman's fall took a lifetime. 

There are several interpretations of this beautifully sad story. One, the woman was old from the start, her life scrolling through her mind as she fell, as is often considered a by product of death. Maybe, Buzzati was attempting to demonstrate the obsession people have with fame and beauty, the woman's obsession obliging her to suicide.  I think I'm starting to realize that all are true. Buzzati clearly let the images and character need drive his imagination, the theme, tension, and meaning derived not explicitly but implicitly through the quality of his imagism.

written by Rob Crowl

*Shapard and James Thomas. Sudden Fiction International. New York: Norton, 1989. Print.