Comparing The Good Side In Italo Calvino's The Cloven Lord

Most people would agree that the good or what is morally right is always more ideal than the bad or evil approach, however, in some cases, the bad approach can be more likeable than the good. In Italo Calvino’s The Cloven Viscount, the idea of “do you prefer the good or bad side” becomes a significant part of the novel as it is constantly portrayed through the protagonist, Viscount Medardo of Terralba. The story begins with Medardo splitting into two half by cannonball; the bad half luckily found and saved by the doctor while the good half is slowly healed back to life by a hermit. These two halves are known as “The Good ‘Un” and “The Bad ‘Un” by the people of Terralba. As the story progresses, the people of Terralba found themselves stuck …show more content…
He has done countless things that caused problems to the people around him, such as, sending his nurse to a leper colony, burning down parts of his castle hoping to cremate his nurse and trying to poison the narrator. Not only is he the source of these destructions, but he is also responsible for slashing certain things in halves. He explains his tendency to split things he encounters into two parts, is “because beauty and knowledge and justice only exists in what has been cut to shreds” (192). Cutting things in half is not only wasteful, but most of the time he is essentially killing animals for the sole purpose of his own happiness. However, what really makes the bad half so evil is that he makes his victims involved with his inhumane crimes. For instance, Dr. Trelawney, a past doctor who’s hobby was the study of will-‘o-the-wisps is forced into an uncomfortable situation where his best opportunity to pursue his studies is through a crime caused to specifically help him. “Dr. Trelawney was terrified by this help, useful as it was to his studies” (173). The bad half of Medardo aided Dr. Trelawney with his will-‘o-the-wisps by executing a dozen of innocent peasant to create a cemetery that will attract the will-‘o-the-wisps at night. Despite all the terrible things the bad half caused, it is important to recognize that his wrong doing has also caused happiness for certain people. For example, without the help from the bad half, Dr. Trelawney would not be able utilize the cemetery that blossomed every night with will-‘o-the-wisps. Similarly to Dr. Trelawney, Pietrochiodo the carpenter would not have been able to master his carpentry and mechanics if it was for the support of the bad half. It can also be seen that before the good half was present, Pietrochiodo was truly