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''The Dwarf'' ((スウェーデン語:Dvärgen)) is a 1945 novel by Pär Lagerkvist. It is considered his most important and artistically innovative novel. It was translated into English by Alexandra Dick in 1945. ==Plot== The main character is a dwarf, tall, at the court of an Italian City-state in the Renaissance. The exact time and location are unclear, but the presence of the character named ''Bernardo'', who is unmistakably modeled on Leonardo da Vinci, suggests that the story takes place in a fictional version of Milan around the time of Leonardo's stay at the court of the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, from 1482 to 1499. There is a reference to Santa Croce being in the immediate surroundings, but this is possibly mixed up with the Basilica di Santa Croce di Firenze, so the story could actually be set in Florence. At the same time, Lagerkvist includes Bernardo/Leonardo's creation of ''The Last Supper'' and ''Mona Lisa'' in the plot, which were done in Milan and Florence, respectively. Further, the prince that inspired Niccolò Machiavelli to write ''The Prince'' has been assumed to be Cesare Borgia, who also employed Leonardo da Vinci as a military architect, a role he (as ''Bernardo'') plays alongside his painting work in ''The Dwarf''. In this way aspects of all these historical places and people are mixed into the background of the novel. The dwarf is the narrator, obviously obsessed with writing down his experiences in a form of diary. Everything in the novel is described from his viewpoint, mostly in retrospect, ranging from a few hours or minutes to several weeks or months after the actual events.〔 The dwarf is a profound misanthrope and generally embodies all things evil. He hates almost every person at the court except for the prince (who is the ruler of the city-state, rather king than prince), or rather aspects of him. He loves war, brutality and fixed positions. While almost all other characters of the novel develop during the chain of events, the dwarf does not change. He is still exactly the same character from the first to the last page. He is deeply religious, but his take on Christianity includes the belief in a non-forgiving God. He is impressed with Bernardo's science but soon repelled by its relentless search for truth.〔 When the dwarf is ordered to assassinate a number of enemies of the prince using poisoned wine, he takes this opportunity to assassinate one of the prince's rivals, simply because the dwarf dislikes the rival and the rival is having an affair with the prince's wife. The novel ends with the dwarf being strapped in chains at the bottom of the royal castle, never to be released again. He is seemingly convicted for flogging the prince's wife to death in anger over her sins. However he takes this sentence lightly, since, as he says, "soon the prince will need his dwarf again".〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Dwarf (Lagerkvist novel)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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