Kindness Infinite, Piranesi

kindness infinite, piranesi

Working on this gave me a lot of time to think about Piranesi, and why it resonated with me. In the end, I think it’s because the protagonist himself is such a rare type in fiction: empathetic and curious, kind to others but perfectly happy alone. That ability to be by himself, to be content experiencing his world without loneliness is so important to me.

The statues are the stars of Piranesi, but the image that stuck in my mind were those moments when he paused to look through the windows. Maybe it’s because I’ve done a lot of traveling alone; there’s a certain feeling when you turn from the fancy rooms or the statues in a grand old palace, and notice how the sunlight falls through the windows. There’s an aching melancholy to it – the sense of gentle decay, the awareness that you might never return to this place – but also a loveliness. And that’s the House to me. Beauty immeasurable. Kindness infinite.