The autobiographical function of bestiary images in the works of Pier Paolo Pasolini

The paper, which constitutes a part of research devoted to the topic of bestiary images in Pier Paolo Pasolini’s works, is focused on animal (non-human) characters that resemble the author himself. They can be interpreted either as the projection of some of Pasolini’s personal trait, or as the expression his thoughts and beliefs pertaining to his profession - in either case, an autobiographical interpretation is warranted. Differently put, these images act as as a kind of writer’s alter ego. This claim is supported by examining the novel “The Stubborn Mirror” (1946), the poem “The Nightingale” from the poetic collection “The Nightingale of the Catholic Church” (1958), and the film “The Hawks and the Sparrows” (1966). The mirror reflection of the monkey that hints at the protagonist’s personal secret, the nightingale which, among other things, symbolizing Christ, the talking Raven-marxist - all these characters from the mentioned works have autobiographical features. The autobiographical reading of these animal characters is not the only available option, and the paper mentions some other interpretations. The discussion closes by the observation that, in Pasolini’s works, bestiary images do not always play a role of alter ego. In other texts and films, the animal characters have different functions: for example, they can be allegories of certain phenomena of the author’s contemporary reality (The Divine Mimesis, 1975) or play a secondary role in revealing the characters’ psychology (Pasolini’s first published novel The Street Kids (1955) and some short stories). These other functions will be examined in further research.