The Siren

The novel, The Professor and the Siren by Lampedusa, tells the story about two Sicilians whose friendship was built upon the pride they felt for their hometown. Both men possess large inner egos stemming from their statuses and positions in life that make them look down upon others: Paolo Corbera’s from the fact that he comes from a prominent family, and Rosario La Ciura, from his achievements, his intelligence and his relationship with an immortal – a siren.

These two men try to maintain their statuses above each other during their friendship but tried to keep their informal conflict inconspicuous. Senator R. L. Ciura always tries to prove his intelligence “I detest talking to people who think themselves knowledgeable when they are ignorant, like my colleagues at the university” (63) and he still carries on his condescending behaviour when he meets Paolo. Even when he realises that Paolo may be from a prominent family, he still tried to taint the power of the name of Paolo’s lineage and ancestors by asking “Corbera… am I mistaken in thinking that to be one of the great Sicilian names?… or merely a descendant of some peasant who took his masters name” (64). Paolo also tried to overlook the senators highly praised intelligence so as not to feel downtrodden by his pride and ego and said to himself “I was feeling more disappointed; he seemed to be just an ordinary academic priest-baiter with a dash of Nietzschean Fascism added.” (64). The friendship was competitive with each party trying to prove themselves but the Senator always felt superior because of his relationship with the siren.