Deadly Simulacra

Taking the lead from a tale by French writer Prosper Mérimée, narrating the terrifying story of a statue of Venus that suddenly—and tragically—becomes alive, the paper will dwell on the several versions of this narrative topos (William of Malmesbury in the 12th Century, Gautier de Coincy in the 13th, Hermann Kroner in the 15th, up to Richard Burton in the 17th, Joseph von Eichendorff in the 19th, Gabriele D’Annunzio in the 20th) in order to semiotically reflect on two streams of the human imaginary: on the one hand, the statue that becomes alive; on the other hand, the human being that becomes a statue. Following such historical, anthropological, and semiotic excursus, the paper will conclude with an in-depth analysis of a very common present-day urban performance: living statues. Also with reference to contemporary British novel Observatory Mansions, by Edward Carey, the paper will seek to answer the following questions: why is the spectacle of the human body that becomes like stone so fascinating? Why are spectators attracted by immobility and yet offer their coins in order to see it turn into movement and life again?