Citation

Elwood TW. Int. Q. Community Health Educ. 2009; 29(1): 3-21.

Affiliation

Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions, Washington, DC 20015, USA. thomas@asaph.org

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.2190/IQ.29.1.b

PMID

19342354

Abstract

Suicide continues to be a major public health problem internationally. Nobel Laureate Luigi Pirandello wrote about the topic of suicide extensively in his various plays, novels, and short stories. This essay draws on these sources to portray the different kinds of unbearable situations in which individuals find themselves and where the only solution perceived to be of any value whatsoever is to commit suicide. Reference is made to the vicissitudes of Pirandello's own life as well as influences from literature and opera that helped to attract him to this topic.

Language: en