Primo Levi's The Princess in the Fridge

Abstract

The paper discusses the similarities between Primo Levi's documentary novel Se questo è un uomo (1947) and his short science fiction story La bella addormentata nel frigo from the collection Storie naturali (1966), on the basis of the themes of the novel. The concentration camps form an element of continuity between the novel, which bears witness to the horrors Levi experienced, and the seemingly light-hearted story. There are many parallels between human perversion documented in the novel and the grotesque experiment of the ‘Laboratory of evil’ seen in the fictional work. The story is almost a parody of Auschwitz; dreadful seriousness is converted to comedy. Patricia, the protagonist of the short story, is Levi's alter ego and a caricature of the Sleeping Beauty archetype from the traditional fairy tale.