The Dwarf

by Pär Lagerkvist and Par Lagerkvist

Book Overview

"I have noticed that sometimes I frighten people; what they really fear is themselves. They think it is I who scare them, but it is the dwarf within them, the ape-faced manlike being who sticks up his head from the depths of their souls."

P r Lagerkvist's richly philosophical novel The Dwarf is an exploration of individual and social identity. The novel, set in a time when Italian towns feuded over the outcome of the last feud, centers...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374521352
• ISBN13: 9780374521356
• Release Date: January 1958
• Publisher: Hill & Wang
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Nothing dwarvish about Lagerkvist's achievement

The Dwarf is a wonderful allegory on various aspects of the human condition, particularly in the realm of politics, statesmanship, leadership, and nation-building; it is also a novel that has a lot of applications to current global political situations, despite the fact it is set in medieval Italy. The titular character, the dwarf Piccoline, is one of the most chilling literary creations of the 20th century. Piccoline is the physical manifestation of the corruption, the dark-side, the hidden cruelty, and the amorality of the prince he serves. By extension, the Dwarf is the shriveled ethical and moral part of ourselves as a society. The image at the end of the novel, of Piccoline in chains, miserable, yet completely confident that the Prince will once again require his services, is a frightful, sobering, and potent image that serves as a reminder that evil and those who would be its agents are always close by and ready to act. Lagerkvist was the Nobel Laureate in 1951. He is a great, often overlooked writer. He has a gift for tackling moral issues and presenting them through plots and characters that are never dated. I also recommend his novels Barabbas and The Sibyl.

War: Evil at a Distance

"The Dwarf" is the story of a pompous, self-important member of a king's court, some time in the past. He sees himself as a warrior in armor, but is really quite a troublemaker. His king may request a dirty deed of him from time to time (such as a political assassination), but he will take it one or two steps beyond the request (killing a few extra people in the bargain). He also delights in causing chaos in general. For example, the king does not know his daughter the princess is surreptitiously consorting with the prince of a rival kingdom. The dwarf causes great panic and confusion with this information, leading to quite a painful set of events, all to the dwarf's great pleasure. He even manages to turn the queen against her own daughter, driving her into the deepest depths of anguish through his vicious sadism.The book is permeated with the notion of evil at a distance, and the idea that evil has a mind of its own, never to be controlled by a master, and to be unleashed only at peril. The dwarf is supposedly the king's agent, and may conduct an assassination or two at the king's bidding, but is remote from the king, as if the king were sending a rocket-launched missile to a distant land, and would not feel the consequences of the explosion himself. Unfortunately, the dwarf always manages to cause enough trouble that the king might wish he had not launched his agent in the first place. The rocket always manages to blow back shrapnel, one way or another. Despite orders, the dwarf has his own agenda, arrogant and sadistic, and will interpret his tasks to suit his fashion.Another attribute of the relationship between king and dwarf is that the dwarf is taken almost as an extension of the king himself. While this is to the benefit of carrying out the king's tasks, it reflects badly on the king when the tasks are carried out with collateral damage. The theme of "evil at a distance" is reinforced through a DaVinci-like character who builds machines of war, but does not wish to stay long enough to see his machines actually being used. He invents them, but their usage is not his concern.It is instructive to reveal at this point that "The Dwarf" was written in 1945. It is clearly an allegorical condemnation of war and its intruments. The dwarf, i.e., the instrument of war, may be asked to perform a certain destructive task, but may cause more destruction than necessary. He may perform tasks of his own choosing, in order to satiate his own lust for power, control, or damage. He may be unleashed by people who believe they are clever for their schemes, or wise in their rule, but will reflect badly on them after the deed is done. This is a highly effective and thought-provoking novel. The reader will remark on the dwarf's amazingly cavalier attitudes toward the other members of the court, at his shocking sadism, and his chaotic mentality. Lagerkvist shows us that we unleash such demons at our own risk.

Human Beings Need Flattery

"Human beings need flattery; otherwise they do not fulfill their purpose, not even in their own eyes." These are the words of the bold and heartless protagonist of Par Lagerkvist's novel, Dwarf. At only twenty-six inches tall, the dwarf, whose keen insights are described throughout the book, is both a shocking and thought-provoking character, one of the most original in literature. Told from the viewpoint of the dwarf, the book is a study in hatred, for the dwarf is filled with both hatred and rage toward humans and towards his own "detestable" race. A truer nihilist there never was; not even Celine, himself, could have conjured up this much rancour and despair.The dwarf lives as a servant and confidante to a Prince during the time when the Black Death was effectively wiping out the population of Europe. There occur many instances in this book when the dwarf must commit the most vile and heinous crimes at the behest of the Prince, and the dwarf does so with a relish that is unconscionable. Ultimately, his crimes force him into eternal imprisonment in a fortress dungeon where he spends his days writing daily recordings of the wickedness of his life and hopes to be called again to duty by the Prince.From the very beginning, the dwarf condemns human beings as "a pack of ingratiating cows" who value such useless things as nobility and beauty and who babble about virtue, honor and chivalry. Believing human beings to be "shrouded in mystery," the dwarf exclaims, "...nothing ever comes up from my inner depths." Nothing but hate, that is.Despite his vile and repulsive nature, the dwarf is loyal to and respectful of the Prince. His most prevalent views of disgust are engendered by those of his own race and by himself. "It is my fate that I hate my own people," he declares. Thinking of himself as an inferior being, less than human, the dwarf revels in the fact that humans hate him. "It fills me with satisfaction that I am hated...But I hate myself, too. I eat my own splenetic flesh. I drink my own poisoned blood. Every day I perform my solitary communion as the grim high priest of my people."It does not help matters that people fail to see this miserable dwarf as a separate being, with thoughts and feelings of his own, but instead see him as only an extension of the Prince. "If you kick him," they cry out, "you kick his master." Hating himself as he does, the dwarf relishes this treatment; at times he even comes to believe that he represents the nobility of the Prince, for it is common knowledge that "A dwarf always knows more about everything than his master."The dwarf goes on to depict several experiences with the Prince and with the unsightly, lascivious Princess, whom he also loathes. When the Princess's lover dies, the dwarf, unable to comprehend love of any kind, himself, becomes involved in an intrigue that finally sends him to the dungeon. There he records his own vile remembrances and reflects "on the day when they will come and

Insights Gained Through Harsh Thoughts

This book, told from the point of view of a twenty six inch tall dwarf, entails numerous expressions of hatred towards humans and towards the dwarf's own "detestable" race. Living as the servant and confidante to a prince during the time when the Black Death was wiping out Europe, the dwarf experiences many instances in which he must commit wicked crimes for the Prince. He does so willingly, considering his lack of conscience. Ultimately, these crimes force him into eternal imprisonment in the dungeon under the fortress, where he can only write daily recordings of his empty life during the hours when the sun shines through the cracks, and hope to be called upon again by the Prince. The thoughts and emotions of the dwarf are both shocking and thought provoking. His hatred for himself, his own kind and humanity provide insights into the true motivations of society and many of its flaws. This book is highly unique and I recommend it to anyone seeking a deep and meaningful book.

Wonderful, yet overlooked and underrated

First of all, in reference to the previous review, the dwarf (NOT jester -- a dwarf and a jester held two very separate positions) was retained by an Italian prince, not a Scandinvian court (where on earth did that come from?). Just had to set the record straight.Lagerkvist won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1951, and rightfully so. This book is an excellent example of his masterful treatment of the duality of humans and, in particular, their evil side, which the dwarf personifies. It truly makes one think about the "ape-like" man/dwarf within.The narrative, while purposely biased by the dwarf's extremely negative view of the world and the humans he serves, grips the reader from the beginning as Piccolino (the dwarf) describes himself and the world around him. The secret lives of the courtiers (the Princess, in particular), the wars and battle scenes, the visits to the Prince (to whom the dwarf is a sort of "right-hand man" at times) by condottieri and intellectuals alike, and the dwarf's personal trials and thoughts on these matters are all fascinating, both as a history lesson in disguise and as a look at human nature from a refreshing point of view. Granted, that point of view comes from a man who identifies with Satan himself, but it is interesting, nonetheless.This book was completely different from anything I've read before and I have been completely taken by it. If you are interested in the duality of humans, God, and nature, in learning more about oneself, or even just the Italian renaissance period, this book is a must-read.