Title: The Morning Visitor: A Glimpse of the Unseen
Let’s talk about something that’s often overlooked in everyday life: the moments that seem insignificant at first, only to reveal themselves as pivotal later on. Dino Buzzati’s short story The Morning Visitor gives us just that—a brief encounter that lingers in our minds long after the pages are turned. It’s an eerie, thought-provoking tale about isolation, the passage of time, and, of course, the visitors we weren’t expecting.
I stumbled across The Morning Visitor by chance, as most good stories are discovered, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. At first, it seems like just another ordinary tale, but when you peel back the layers, you start to realize it’s a reflection on how we perceive our reality—and what happens when we let our guard down, even for a second.
So, let’s dive into this paradoxical, chilling story and see what we can learn from a simple morning visit.
The Story in a Nutshell
In The Morning Visitor, we follow a man who lives in solitude, perhaps in an apartment, maybe a house—it’s not entirely clear. What is clear is that he’s stuck in a routine: the same breakfast, the same window, the same quiet, unremarkable life. He’s perfectly content—or at least that’s what he tells himself—until, one morning, something happens that changes everything.
He’s sitting in his usual spot, likely sipping on his coffee or tea, when he notices a figure through the window. At first, it’s just a person, maybe an acquaintance, or maybe someone he’s never seen before. He doesn’t think much of it—after all, who hasn’t had the occasional passerby in their field of view?
But this isn’t just a fleeting encounter. The figure doesn’t move on; they linger. They stay right there, staring. It’s the kind of encounter that unsettles you, makes your skin prickle. In the way only Buzzati can, the moment transitions from a mundane observation to a subtle psychological horror. The visitor is no longer just a stranger—they are an enigma, a mirror reflecting the solitude that has defined the protagonist’s existence.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what makes this moment so unsettling. It’s not the physical presence of the visitor; it’s something far more sinister. It’s what the visitor represents. And in that, it mirrors a universal feeling: the moment we realize that something, or someone, has been waiting at the edge of our reality, just out of view, for far too long.
A Moment of Isolation
The protagonist’s reaction to the visitor is key to understanding the story’s deeper meaning. He isn’t initially terrified; he’s perplexed. He tries to brush it off, as we often do when something feels a bit off. But the more he thinks about it, the more it gnaws at him. And isn’t that so often the case in life?
How many of us have moments that haunt us? A look exchanged with a stranger that lingers in our minds, an unsettling dream, or perhaps a fleeting encounter that we can’t quite explain? We try to shake it off, but it keeps returning, like a shadow just out of reach, always present but never fully understood.
Buzzati’s story doesn’t give us easy answers, and that’s part of its brilliance. The morning visitor could be a metaphor for many things. Perhaps it represents the feelings of isolation that so many people experience in a world that often feels disconnected. It could be a symbol of the mind’s tendency to create false fears—those anxieties that we don’t know how to control or confront.
More likely, though, it’s a commentary on the invisible visitors that we all have: the subconscious thoughts, memories, or regrets that stand in the background, quietly watching and waiting. They’re not always immediately noticeable, but they are there, ready to make their presence known at the slightest crack in our daily routines.
Visitors We Don’t Expect
There’s something deeply human about the way we respond to unfamiliar visitors. Whether it’s a stranger knocking on your door, an unexpected message in your inbox, or someone showing up in your life who you weren’t expecting—these things cause a shift in the way we see the world. They force us to confront things we would otherwise leave unexamined. In The Morning Visitor, the visitor serves as a catalyst for reflection. When we are faced with something—or someone—we can’t ignore, we are forced to ask the hard questions.
What happens when we let people—or thoughts—into our lives without fully considering the consequences? What happens when we become too comfortable, too isolated, and the world around us starts to change without our consent?
Maybe the visitor represents those parts of ourselves we try to avoid, those thoughts and memories that we lock away in the corners of our minds. We tell ourselves we’re fine, that we don’t need to think about them. But when something—like the presence of an unexpected guest—breaks the surface, we are forced to reckon with the things we’ve been avoiding.
The visitor doesn’t demand an explanation. They don’t need to say anything—they simply stand there, waiting for the protagonist to notice them. It’s the silent nature of the encounter that makes it so unnerving. It’s the feeling that something is off, but we can’t quite put our finger on what it is.
The Meaning Behind the Visitor
What, exactly, is the meaning behind the morning visitor? Buzzati doesn’t offer a tidy answer, but that’s what makes the story so profound. We’re left to interpret the encounter however we see fit. Is the visitor a warning? A sign of something sinister? Or is it merely a moment of reflection, a brief reminder that things are never as straightforward as they seem?
Perhaps the visitor is a representation of time itself. We are all constantly living in the present, unaware of the future until it walks right up to us. And when the visitor arrives, it’s not just a stranger at the window—it’s everything we have ignored, every fear and memory we’ve tucked away, showing up in the form of an unexpected presence.
Maybe the visitor doesn’t represent anything at all, and that’s the scariest part of all. Because if it’s not a symbol, if it’s just an inexplicable presence in our lives, what does that say about the randomness of existence?
The Visitor’s Lasting Impact
The beauty of The Morning Visitor is that it forces us to consider the consequences of these unsettling moments. The visitor doesn’t just vanish; they stay with us, lingering in our minds long after they’ve disappeared from our lives. They leave an imprint that we can’t erase, no matter how hard we try. In that sense, the visitor is like a ghost, haunting the edges of our consciousness.
Buzzati gives us no resolution, no easy answers. Instead, he leaves us with a haunting reminder that there are things in life we cannot control, things that will show up uninvited and change us forever. Whether we recognize them as visitors or threats, they will arrive. And when they do, we will have no choice but to face them.
A Final Thought
The Morning Visitor is more than just a short story—it’s a mirror reflecting the complexities of our own inner worlds. It’s a reminder that we are all living with visitors we can’t see, emotions we haven’t dealt with, and memories we’ve buried deep. And when they finally make their presence known, we will have to decide how to respond.
So, the next time you find yourself faced with a visitor, whether it’s a stranger at the door or a long-lost memory, ask yourself: What is it that I’m truly facing? Is this visitor here to teach me something, or is it here to reveal something I’ve been avoiding?
Either way, you’ll never be the same once they’ve arrived. And that, my friends, is the power of the unexpected.
