A passo incrociato. Aldo Giorgio Gargani legge Thomas Bernhard

Abstract

My essay aims to investigate how Aldo Giorgio Gargani interprets Thomas Bernhard’s narrative works in his philosophical reflections. Bernhard was a constant reference point for Gargani’s studies and novels. In particular, I intend to reread a short text by Bernhard entitled Gehen (Walking, 1971) through the ‘Gargani filter’. In this long story, which has recently become available in Italian but has long been central to Gargani, the latter confronts one of Wittgenstein’s most cherished themes: the relationship between thought and language, and the vertigo formed between thinking and speaking. While it is true that Bernhard was fascinated by Wittgenstein’s biography, as evidenced by the philosopher’s frequent appearance in his literary and theatrical works, Gargani’s studies also reveal that some of the Viennese philosopher’s concepts significantly influenced Bernhard’s fiction. Significant references to Wittgenstein’s thought in Bernhard’s writing do not distort the narrative thread at all, but rather strengthen its fabric.