Irony of Zeno's Father's Madness

            In Zeno’s Conscious, Italo Svevo expands on themes already touched on from previous texts analyzed in this course. These themes include the protagonist’s relationship with their father, and the contrast between consciousness and madness. Another theme that stands out in Svevo’s writing is the concept of the unusual. The best examples of the above themes are found in the “My Father’s Death” chapter.

            The protagonist, Zeno Cosini’s account of his father’s death is extremely ironic throughout. First, Zeno acknowledges the distant relationship the two had, yet he spends thirty pages describing in depth the slow process of his father’s death and his deteriorating mental state. For example, the doctor predicts that Zeno’s father, currently unconscious, will briefly retain his consciousness before death. Zeno ironically believes it to be torture for the doctor to attempt to bring his father back to consciousness.

            Zeno’s desire for his father to be mad is extremely ironic. His logic is completely reversed. He believes that he is providing his father with a sense of relief by allowing him to remain in his delirious state. However, Zeno’s father is clearly struggling greatly, as his deteriorating mental state takes a tremendous toll on his mind and body. Zeno’s father expresses the desire to go outside multiple times in the chapter, yet is prevented from doing so by the doctor, the orderly, and even Zeno after the doctor states that movement provides Zeno’s father with some relief. In their attempt to cure him, they are ironically accelerating his death.

            Lastly, in the beginning of the chapter, Zeno discusses the unusual and how the unusual is what defines the human experience. The highly unusual scene of Zeno’s father’s death is a perfect illustration of such. This very unique event shapes and determines the remainder of Zeno’s human experience.