The Geography Of Old Age, Guilt And Seclusion In Henning Mankell’S Italian Shoes

We set out to analyze the interferences of the setting of the story and geography with the main character’s feelings at the dusk of his life, as he is haunted in his old age by a sense of futility and depression. By geography we mean, on the one hand, the actual relief, atmospheric phenomena and surrounding natural environment and elements, as well as, on the other hand, the inhabited space, familiar objects and even beings (as in his pets, a cat and dog), which tend to mirror his inner life, thoughts and feelings in perfect conjunction. The main character-narrator uses these to convey messages related to how he is and his situation. When he is lost for words, he still seems to have a way of expressing himself with landscape imagery (in the broad sense of the concept of a “landscape”, as pointed out above), and in this specific manner of expression he is never lost for either words or metaphors – on the contrary, he masters transmission particularly well.