Natalia Ginzburg, the author of the Family Sayings, uses several themes to bring out the strengths and negative qualities of her family members. She uses her family members’ interactions as a family to vividly expose the theme of family which is among the major themes in this novel. Her family is made up of five children and among them are Mario, Alberto and Paulo. She mentions her parent’s names as Giu-seppex and Lydiah Levi. In other words, she lives in an extended family. Natalia calls her family members by name implying the closeness of this family and this builds the theme of family further. She uses lovely words to describe Leone’s physical appearance, a clear indication that she loved him. Leone was her husband before he was arrested and sentenced for he was a fascist.
The novel starts when the family is having their dinner at the family dinner table. This was their tradition as evidenced by Natalia who recalls, when she was a little girl at home how her father would bellow words like, “Behave yourself,” (Ginzburg 9) if one of them upset a glass or dropped a knife at the table. Their father’s remarks were meant to correct the children’s behaviours just like a responsible father does. In another instance, her father mentions marrying her mother when she complains that he barely gives her company, “Anyway, I did not marry you to keep you company” (Ginzburg 53). This confirms that the two were a married couple. Therefore, the theme of family is majorly brought in these instances. Considering the above appeal by her mother, Natalia seems to disregard her father’s behaviour and did not like it.
On another instance, the pains of family are also depicted clearly when the author informs her mother that she will be leaving with the children to Rome. The mother responds in sheer pain when she says “You are taking away my little ones from me. You really are a cow!” This instance is an indication of the familial bonds that holds them together (Ginzburg 173). The mentioning of the family tomb further strengthens the family theme which Natalia uses widely in this novel. Her mother shows many concerns to her children. She embraces Paola when she arrives home in a new day saying that she loves to see her children in new dresses, “I do love to see my children in new dresses,” (Ginzburg 81). The fact that her mother refers them as her children brings out the family image of mother-daughter relationship. This shows the family interaction that brings out the theme of family. The loss of family in truth is a painful matter and this is not among what she liked in her past.
Another family in this novel is that between Natalia’s sister Paola and Adriano. Just as it is expected, Adriano asks for blessings from Paola’s parents but it appears that the father was against the marriage as Natalia reveals. Adriano’s father Olivetti intervenes and asks Paola for their hand in marriage. The two marry and get a baby boy (Ginzburg 71). The family takes Adriano in and hid him when his life was in danger in an incidence when he was in danger. This was an indication that he was valued as part of the family. This is another concrete evidence of this theme of family. Conclusively, the main message that Natalia wanted to pass was her family experiences and memories. Natalia wrote this novel to enable the reader to interact more with her family members hence bringing out the theme of family. In a nutshell, the current book utilizes a wider array of phrases that support its theme on family, in fact, Ginzburg pg. 62 asserts “would make one of us recognise another in the darkness of cave or among a million people.” This statement depicts the strength aligned with family bonding.
Work cited
Ginzburg, Natalia. Family Sayings. New York: Arcade Pub, 1989. Print. Pg. 53, 74 and 81.
