Marta Buzatti's The Falling Girl

When I read the story of “The Falling Girl,” I instantly fell in love with its obscurity and direct human content. Since I, too, have an Italian heritage, I feel that this author and I were meant to get to know one another. I was glad to be introduced to this major writer.

Upon further research of Buzatti, I found him to be quite a renaissance man. He worked as journalist for Corriere Della Sera in Milan from the age twenty-two. These experiences as a journalist aided in his insightful knowledge of human nature and stories that deal with life. When asked about his fiction he explained that “fantasy should be as close as possible to journalism.” Perhaps he gained some insight for this story that involved young women and Italian society.
Buzatti takes what he sees in the world and rewrites it as a figment of his imagination. I most certainly enjoy his writing style and detailed descriptions. This failure of our society concerning young women can be seen in Hollywood obsession culture in the United States. Young adults and teens, most often women, find the spotlight enjoying the temptations of the higher life. We are inundated with Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and Lindsay Lohan and their latest antics. While we may think there they go “those spoiled celebrities are at it again,” yet when we are exposed to these sensationalized reports, some of us feel a slight twinge of envy as we observe the glamorous lives of the rich and famous. Much like the character Marta, we can be caught up in the lure of the limelight and privileged lives of the rich, losing sight of what is important in our own lives. Too much of American society is obsessed with the feeling that materialistic possessions will make us happy and successful, but this fixation can blind us, causing us to lose focus on what is meaningful to us. Possibly Buzatti created Marta in “The Falling Girl” as a reminder to those young women of the early to mid 20th century how easy it is to lose their lives in the glare of the dazzling brightness of a goal that is unattainable. The lesson we gain from this short story is one that evokes wisdom about the choices that a person makes. The value from this piece has great appeal to me as a teacher, as an example to young people on the dimensions of false hope that they feel from obsessing over the things that they want out of life. This lesson is valuable to young people all over the world who are not satisfied with what they have. Friends, family and simple pleasures should not be traded for a shallow existence. Marta shows readers that an escape from reality can end up with a rude and unsatisfactory awakening.

My first discussion of the text leads into my theory of the truth behind “The Falling Girl.” Marta is progressing through the stages of her life as she falls from the top of the skyscraper and is never satisfied with the things that she encounters throughout her life. Far too often, it is a choice for people to substitute relationships for materialistic gains. This result becomes especially hard on women, who are still fighting the glass ceiling in order to get ahead. Marta seems to be a woman at the top of her life, but mindlessly passing her important pieces of her life to succeed . . . Marta takes her life for granted as she floats carelessly through life, aiming for that one big “party” at the end. As she gazes out on her city, she is enraptured by the growing night that beckons to her to fall into her reverie of glamour, riches, and interesting people . . .
Marta has her sights set on a flimsy goal, one that she will not reveal to her peers, and she is in too much of a hurry to join the “modest little party among friends” (Buzzati114). She longs for the “beautiful people” who seemed to be “interested in her and that filled her with satisfaction” (Buzzati 114). Here is where she made her first mistake with her obsession. She does not take the time to relish in the beauty that surrounds her, the opportunity that she has before her. . . As the sun sets in her dreamland, Marta begins to lose her luster that once made her a “seductive comet” (Buzzati 114). . .

Marta did not take the opportunities that life had given her as an aid to make her life the best that it could have been.
She was greedy and self indulgent, forgetting what is truly important in her life. She eagerly bypasses friends, love, and career all for a pipe dream. This story was not written as a means to discourage young women from setting the bar high, but as a reminder that too much drive can blind you to the aspects of life that mean the most. Marta’s escape from her true path is one that is common to many teen girls. Once freed from the burdens of high school, a young woman may feel the pressure from society to fit a certain mold of achievement. This model can lead young women on the wrong path to the beliefs of what life and success is. Media can play a large role in the false realities that these girls are striving for in life. Young women are too often portrayed as vindictive, obsessive, and shrewd when it comes to the path to success. What many women like Marta don’t realize is that they are harming the very relationships that they need in order to be successful. People and careers are not mere stepping-stones for someone to ascend in life; these people are the backbone that gives us the strength to meet these
goals.

Buzzati, Dino. “The Falling Girl.” Worlds of Fiction. Eds. Roberta Rubenstein and Charles R. Larson. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003. 113-16.