Pedrolino
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Pedrolino is a zanni, or servant character in the Commedia dell'arte. His name is essentially the same as "Pete" or "Petey" in English -- a diminutive form of the name Peter. He is normally portrayed as personable, charming and kind, to the point of excess -- he blames himself for wrongs never done and because of his good and trusting nature is often easily tricked. As Rudlin says, "He takes a child-like delight in practical jokes and pranks, but otherwise his intrigues are on behalf of his master – he is too honest and self-effacing to do otherwise. At times, however, the best he can scheme for is to escape the punishment others have in store for him." He can be moved to violence when angry, but usually his efforts to beat or kill any other characters are foiled and are ultimately unsuccessful.
He wears white clothes, which are occasionally overlarge for him but more commonly are well fitted, and sometimes black accessories. On his head he wears a hat that is either tall and pointed or else small and brimmed. He is very occasionally depicted with a teardrop on his face, and he usually wears no mask; the actor is generally expected to have a great range of facial expression, and this tradition has been in play since at least the start of the 1600s. His face is sometimes whitened with powder or flour.
According to Pierre Louis Duchartre, the character first appears in the 16th century, and by his costume it is easy to guess he evolved from the general-purpose Zanni. The French version of his character is Pierrot, created by Italians belonging to the Gelosi troupe, and in the 19th century the character's naïveté and awkwardness were emphasised in this version.
Examples of Pedrolino's behavior
In one of Flaminio Scala's scenario, La Fortunata Isabella, when Pedrolino discovers that his wife Franceschina has been unfaithful, he is tricked into believing that he was drunk at the time that the infidelity was discovered and that he had imagined the whole thing. He ends up begging forgiveness for doubting her; even though his suspicions about Franceschina were entirely true.
A lazzo cited in Mel Gordon's book shows Arlecchino and Pedrolino armed and ready to face each other in fight. Il Capitano tries to intervene and steps between them right as they both move to attack, receiving most of the blows himself.
Duchartre tells of a scene where Arlecchino brings a dish of spaghetti to Pedrolino. Pedrolino begins to eat heartily, but weeps all the while. Arlecchino is touched and joins in the eating and crying. Next Burrattino comes along and also joins in. Once they have eaten all the macaroni they lament even more fervently than ever before.
Variants
