Fireflies Print

I remember that the first time I saw some insects like Fireflies or Praying Mantis I thought they were magical creatures from another world and I wanted to find the secret passage to their world. What is your favourite insect? Why? The characters of Dante, Dorian and Virgilio, who are the three protagonists from A Cornelian Dilemma, impersonate the desire many of us feel in our childhood – to be someone else and to escape our limitations and pain we endure at home, school, or playground. The boys’ drive to perform together and embody characters from the classical literature comes from a fervent wish to escape the pain and trauma in their everyday life – dysfunctional families, identity and gender issues, their emotions and feelings towards each other. However, I want to emphasise that such desire for escaping reality does not end when reaching adulthood, for we turn ourselves into characters constantly through our lives. The only difference is that children do not necessarily see themselves in a costume – they become the character they want to be. A table becomes a tree. A sunny backyard becomes a sea under the deadliest storm. Fear is replaced with courage. The love between boys comes out of the shadow of guilt. I hope these boys can remind us grown-ups that we should always remain a little curious, a little wild and a little dreamy.