On Memory, Identity, and Ego: An Analysis of Italo Calvino's "Invisible Cities"

When I started reading Italo Calvino’s ‘Invisible Cities’, details such as “the city does not tell its past” and the fact that no one other than the traveler saw some of these places made me question if any of these places were real. The cities, however, are as real as any of our memories, less places than psychological mirrors. This analysis explores how Calvino seamlessly weaves philosophical concepts of memory, identity, and time into his book. As Marco Polo describes more cities, the line between them begins to blur. Memories do not appear as a sequence of events in time; they exist non-linearly, overlapping as simultaneous blocks. This induces fluidity in the self-identity of the traveler, which, in turn, affects how he perceives the external world.