The Late Mattia Pascal is a novel published and set in the year 1904. The main character, a man named Mattia Pascal, once lived a joyous youth and was excited to get married to the woman that he loved. However, things do not always go as planned, and Pascal learns the troubles of becoming an adult. This novel brings the reader through the aftermath of the troubles of the Late Mattia Pascal.
Everything seemed to be turning out right for Mattia Pascal. His was about to be married to the woman he loved, and she had a small fortune backing her. However, things start to turn downhill once he gets a job. Hating his job that practically involves doing the same thing all day, his fiance leaves him for another man.
Despite this, Pascal still gets married, just to another woman. As it turns out, you have to spend a lot of time with them before you marry them, and Pascal could care less about his new wife. Nevertheless, they have two daughters, which offer him a ray of hope in life. That is, until they unexpectedly die - not to mention that Pascal's mother dies just after.
You can't escape things like this, but Pascal tries to by running off to Monte Carlo, a city located in modern day Monaco, which borders France. In this casino city, Pascal tries to gamble himself to happiness, which he eventually does, winning a small profit. Pascal thinks things can't get any better when, upon reading a newspaper, he finds he has been declared dead! An unknown corpse, found back where Pascal used to reside, was thought to be his - his wife and mother-and-law don't seem to dispute these claims.
Pascal moves to Rome, and makes himself a fake identity. This doesn't really work for him though, because he feels remorse that his entire life is now a lie. He tries to return back home, maybe telling people that he isn't dead after all, but finds a community adjusted to life without him before doing so. Pascal becomes an outcast of society, and a lost person in the world.
