Nostos y Laberinto

Abstract

The numerous references in the work of Vincenzo Consolo to the classic notion of the homeward journey, in particular that of Ulysses, could be considered an authentic leitmotiv. Through his repeated references to Homer's nostos, one can see how the Sicilian author develops a myriad of concerns that turn out to be essential to his storytelling and essays. Within this nucleus we can find beams flooding in from a broad spectrum, spanning that which is most assertively political or ethical/moral, as well as the most intimate reflections on the object of art, whilst also encompassing core aspects of Consolo's work, such as existentialism, concerns over land or those related to the formal and stylistic destruction of the traditional novel, amongst other things. The article starts out with a description of this reality, together with the critical analyses it has attracted, the aim being the attempt to trace a parallel between such reality and Consolo's use of the labyrinth theme, taking the episode of the prison-spiral, which appears in the final part of Il sorriso dell'ignoto marinaio (The Smile of the Unknown Mariner), as the main focus of attention.