The Green Fisherman
The Green Fisherman (Il Pescatore Verde) is a fictional character who appears in Carlo Collodi's 1883 book The Adventures of Pinocchio (Le avventure di Pinocchio). He dwells in a sea cave on the coast of Busy Bee Island (Isola delle Api Industriose) where he lives on a diet seemingly composed entirely of sea life. He is described as "...so ugly, he looked like a sea monster. Instead of hair, he had on his head a dense clump of green grass; green was the skin on his body, green were his eyes, green was his long beard which drooped downards. He looked like a great lizard erected on its hind legs."
| The Green Fisherman | |
|---|---|
| The Adventures of Pinocchio character | |
 Il Pescatore Verde, as illustrated by Enrico Mazzanti | |
| First appearance | The Adventures of Pinocchio |
| Created by | Carlo Collodi |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Ogre |
| Gender | Male |
According to Giacomo Maria Prati, The Green Fisherman is one example of the story's parallels with classical mythology, stating that the Fisherman is evocative of the cyclops Polyphemus of Homers Odyssey. He also writes that The Fisherman represents murder through ignorance, referring to the fact that he tries to eat Pinocchio, unaware he was not an edible fish.[1]
The fisherman is not in Disney's animated adaption due to Disney's version being non-violent.
Role
Encountered in chapter XXVIII, the Fisherman accidentally captures Pinocchio in his net while fishing. He is surprised that Pinocchio is able to talk, but does not understand when he identifies himself as a "puppet". The Fisherman deduces that Pinocchio is a kind of rare "puppet-fish" and refuses to let Pinocchio escape. When Pinocchio breaks down in despair, the Fisherman decides to fry him. Just as the Fisherman is about to lower Pinocchio into a frying pan, his cave is visited by a mastiff named Alidoro, attracted by the smell. The mastiff, upon recognizing Pinocchio, pounces on the Fisherman and takes the puppet away.
Media portrayals
The Fisherman has so far appeared in three film adaptations of Collodi's book:
- In Giannetto Guardone's Le avventure di Pinocchio (1947), portrayed by Vittorio Gassman, in which he is foolish and lets Pinocchio go as he walks out.
- In Giuliano Cenci's 1972 animated film The Adventures of Pinocchio, that shows the Fisherman (voiced by Arturo Dominici) almost exactly as he is portrayed in the book.
- In Roberto Benigni's 2002 film Pinocchio, the scene was replaced by the scene with the farmer.
- In Enzo D'Alò's 2012 animated film Pinocchio, voiced by singer Lucio Dalla in Italian and by Harry Standjofski in English.
References
- "Pinocchio esoterico" (in Italian). Edicolaweb.net. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
Bibliography
Collodi, Le Avventure di Pinocchio 1883, Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli