Arrogance and Immortality in "The Professor and the Siren"

          In Lampedusa’s short story, “The Professor and the Siren,” there are integrated realistic and mythical elements. The protagonist, Paolo Corbera, befriends an intelligent and demeaning senator who claims to have had intimate relations with a mythic Siren. The senator’s arrogance stems from his belief in his forthcoming immortality.  He believes himself superior to humans and earthly pleasures, because he does not fear death and has experienced superhuman, carnal ecstasy, initiating his condescension to the whole human race. The senator exhibits his extreme haughtiness by constantly degrading “you people” (65). He sets himself apart from the human race, and negates the knowledge of the world’s greatest intellectuals, saying, “I shall stop my ears to avoid hearing the nonsense of those (congressmen)” (71). His displays of supremacy arise from the assurance of immortality he receives from the Siren. The Siren “had shown (him) the way towards true eternal repose,” and, unlike other humans, he is not afraid of death. He treats their fear of dying condescendingly, saying, “always the same, you people, slaves to decay and putrescence, always with ears strained for the shuffling steps of Death. Poor devils!” (72). Additionally, he believes to engage in worldly, sexual pleasures would be degrading to his status as an immortal’s lover. He asks Paolo to “please do me the favour of being convinced that the sordid pleasures of you people have never been Rosario La Ciura’s” (68).  He considers himself above humanity’s natural urges, because his experiences with the Siren caused him to develop “an asceticism derived not from renunciation but from an incapacity to accept other inferior pleasures” (83).  The Senator’s romance with the Siren instigates his belief that he is superior to the human race, destined for another world, and it commences his rejection of humanity.