Plot Twists Research Articles

“[S]he could not but do him the justice of feeling that there was a great deal of sentiment in his manner of naming Harriet”: Reported Speech and the Mind-Twist Plot in Jane Austen’s Emma

Abstract: While reported speech has traditionally been considered “lesser” than direct dialogue, recent theorists have begun to see indirect quotation as significant. Indirect quotation is particularly important in Jane Austen’s Emma, which contains three shocking plot twists. This paper explores how reading Emma as an example of the “mind-twist genre” reveals Austen’s use of certain techniques to deceive readers while also ensuring that readers do not feel unfairly tricked (“cheated”) when the novel’s twists are revealed.

Experimental narratives: A comparison of human crowdsourced storytelling and AI storytelling

The paper proposes a framework that combines behavioral and computational experiments employing fictional prompts as a novel tool for investigating cultural artifacts and social biases in storytelling both by humans and generative AI. The study analyzes 250 stories authored by crowdworkers in June 2019 and 80 stories generated by GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 in March 2023 by merging methods from narratology and inferential statistics. Both crowdworkers and large language models responded to identical prompts about creating and falling in love with an artificial human. The proposed experimental paradigm allows a direct and controlled comparison between human and LLM-generated storytelling. Responses to the Pygmalionesque prompts confirm the pervasive presence of the Pygmalion myth in the collective imaginary of both humans and large language models. All solicited narratives present a scientific or technological pursuit. The analysis reveals that narratives from GPT-3.5 and particularly GPT-4 are more progressive in terms of gender roles and sexuality than those written by humans. While AI narratives with default settings and no additional prompting can occasionally provide innovative plot twists, they offer less imaginative scenarios and rhetoric than human-authored texts. The proposed framework argues that fiction can be used as a window into human and AI-based collective imaginary and social dimensions.

Posthuman Encounters and Patterns of Care in Klara and the Sun (2021) or, What Ishiguro’s AI Tells Us About the Uncanny Valley

The protagonist of Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun (2021) seems a perfect candidate to take us through the uncanny valley (Mori, 1970)—a place where the once attractive almost-but-not-quite-human suddenly repulses us. Klara is an artificially intelligent android and the best carer to Josie, a teenager afflicted with a fatal condition. She is also a sympathetic narrator and focaliser, until a plot twist presents her in an entirely different light. Told from the AI’s viewpoint, the fable informs our experience of the uncanny valley. While Mori’s model focused on appearance, the notion that Klara might replicate human consciousness brings up the hypothesis of an ‘uncanny valley of the mind.’ Yet, through most of the story, sharing the AI’s perspective is exhilarating rather than off-putting. Ultimately, in encountering this peculiar narrator, we are reminded that storytelling allows us to theorise about and rejoice in the inner lives of others, human and not.

Infection Prevention and Control Strategies According to the Type of Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria and Candida auris in Intensive Care Units: A Pragmatic Resume including Pathogens R0 and a Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

Multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) outbreaks have been steadily increasing in intensive care units (ICUs). Still, healthcare institutions and workers (HCWs) have not reached unanimity on how and when to implement infection prevention and control (IPC) strategies. We aimed to provide a pragmatic physician practice-oriented resume of strategies towards different MDRO outbreaks in ICUs. We performed a narrative review on IPC in ICUs, investigating patient-to-staff ratios; education, isolation, decolonization, screening, and hygiene practices; outbreak reporting; cost-effectiveness; reproduction numbers (R0); and future perspectives. The most effective IPC strategy remains unknown. Most studies focus on a specific pathogen or disease, making the clinician lose sight of the big picture. IPC strategies have proven their cost-effectiveness regardless of typology, country, and pathogen. A standardized, universal, pragmatic protocol for HCW education should be elaborated. Likewise, the elaboration of a rapid outbreak recognition tool (i.e., an easy-to-use mathematical model) would improve early diagnosis and prevent spreading. Further studies are needed to express views in favor or against MDRO decolonization. New promising strategies are emerging and need to be tested in the field. The lack of IPC strategy application has made and still makes ICUs major MDRO reservoirs in the community. In a not-too-distant future, genetic engineering and phage therapies could represent a plot twist in MDRO IPC strategies.

Plot Twist.

Plot Twist.

Plot Twist: Unexpected twists in the sexist narrative of reggaetón

Building on ideas of feminism and post-feminism, this paper looks at the development and reception of reggaetón, which has been associated with buzzwords such as machismo and sexism, especially at the beginning of its emergence around the turn of the millennium. Its aim is to show what roles these two concepts have played in this Latin American pop music genre since its emergence. It discusses and illuminates ambivalences within the genre on an artistic level as well as impulses and turning points in its reception using examples from artistic projects and post-feminist voices of women who experience reggaetón as positive for themselves and have been able to establish new perspectives in the context of sexism, feminism and the freedom of female sexuality through it.

The Research of Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case in the View of Narratology

The narrative artistry on display in Agatha Christie’s Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case is both significant and outstanding. Central to this seminal work's success are its deft employment of a limited third-person narrative perspective, a narrative structure that seamlessly interleaves dialogue with clue collection, as well as several highly effective narrative techniques such as foreshadowing and misguiding. By utilizing a limited third-person perspective, Christie is able to adeptly provide the reader with enough information to remain engaged and invested, while simultaneously keeping a distance that allows for unexpected plot twists and revelations. In addition, the book’s unique narrative structure serves to further highlight the cleverness of Christie’s approach, with the novel flowing effortlessly from one clue-gathering scene to another, interspersed with revealing conversations between the characters and the ever-present Poirot. Finally, the use of narrative techniques such as foreshadowing and misguiding showcase Christie’s unparalleled skill as a writer of mystery and suspense. Through her employment of these techniques, Christie is able to further engage the reader, keeping them guessing and questioning their assumptions until the final revelation.

Plot twists and cutting corners with atypical SMCs

In this issue of Molecular Cell, two papers provide insight into atypical structural maintenance of chromosomes protein complexes (SMCs). Jeppsson etal.1 link Smc5/6 to supercoiled DNA, and Roisné-Hamelin etal.2 show how Wadjet SMC bends and cleaves invading DNAs.

Dostoevsky’s Lost Play “Boris Godunov” (Sources, Concept)

According to contemporaries, the play “Boris Godunov” was written by Dostoevsky before he began work on the novel “Poor People.” The manuscript of the play is lost. Some assumptions about its composition have been made in the scientific literature, but this article for the first time undertakes a systematic analysis, if possible, of all the alleged sources of the idea, as well as some of its reflections in the writer’s later works. The article examines the situation in Russian historiography and fiction related the coverage of the reign of Boris Godunov and the personality of the tsar himself prior to Dostoevsky’s undertaking of this topic. The key sources for him were the 9 volumes of Karamzin’s “History of the Russian State” and Pushkin’s “Boris Godunov,” which formed the consciousness of the future writer since the times of family readings in his parents’ house. Subsequently, Dostoevsky faced an acute dispute in literature around Karamzin and Pushkin, who declared Godunov guilty of the murder of Tsarevich Dmitry. Their position was supported in the 1830s by the authors of historical dramas V. T. Narezhny, A. S. Khomyakov, and M. E. Lobanov. The historians M. P. Pogodin, N. S. Artsybashev, and A. A. Kraevsky defended Godunov; their point of view was reflected in the dramas of the same Pogodin and G. F. Rosen. F. V. Bulgarin took an ambivalent position in both journalism and prose. Dostoevsky was undoubtedly familiar with Schiller’s printed sketches for the tragedy “Demetrius,” where the figure of Boris Godunov as psychologically complex and ambiguous. The critics of Pushkin’s Boris Godunov N. I. Nadezhdin, N. A. Polevoy, and V. G. Belinsky played a certain role in shaping Dostoevsky’s idea. In “interacting” with them, Dostoevsky obviously developed a new twist in the dramatic plot, which resolved the historians’ dead-end disputes. In his play, which absorbed the dramatic experience of Shakespeare, Racine, Schiller, as well as the historical legends around Alexander I and Napoleon, a version was proposed about Godunov’s indirect guilt in Dmitry’s death and about the hero’s unwavering moral responsibility even for indirect complicity in a crime. This motif was developed in Dostoevsky’s subsequent works, such as “Netochka Nezvanova” (Efimov), “Demons” (Stavrogin), “Brothers Karamazov” (Ivan). It can be stated with a high degree of confidence that the origin of the concept of expanding guilt and responsibility for it occurred in the very first works of the writer — the tragedies “Mary Stuart” and “Boris Godunov.” The author of the article suggests the formation of Dostoevsky’s aesthetics in the context of the development of Russian historical drama.

Советский исторический роман в зеркале исторического источника («Судьба Плещеевых» А.Н. Глумова и письма А.А. Плещеева к В.А. Жуковскому)

The article examines the Soviet historical trilogy by Aleksandr Glumov about the fate of Aleksey Pleshcheev (1778-1862) and his family; it was published by the publishing house Sovetskiy Pisatel’ (Young Freethinkers, 1959; At the Turn of the Century, 1965; The Fate of the Pleshcheevs, 1973). The involvement of Pleshcheev’s two sons in Decembrist societies prompted Glumov to present the history of this family as a reflection of the first stage of the development of the revolutionary movement in Russia (in accordance with Lenin’s scheme). Pleshcheev, a music lover and composer, is depicted in the trilogy as a secret freethinker, accustomed to silence about his beliefs during his years of study at the St. Petersburg Jesuit boarding school. Anastasia Pleshcheeva, his wife, is represented by Glumov as a victim of Emperor Paul I’s violence, which made her like-minded with her husband in hatred of the supreme power. The constructions associated with the central images of the trilogy are not confirmed by historical sources, with which Glumov was well acquainted. The creation of the trilogy was accompanied by a huge research work of its author in libraries and archives. Glumov was a well-known musicologist, as well as the director of musical and literary concert performances, which testified to his high educational and cultural level. In the trilogy, he managed to give a wide panorama of the life of Russian noble society at the end of the 18th - first quarter of the 19th centuries. In his memoirs, Glumov admitted that the depiction of many scenes, episodes, plot twists and historical figures was dictated not by the biography of the hero, but by the author’s interest in various historical and cultural phenomena and personalities, primarily from the musical, theatrical and literary world. The freedom with which Glumov worked on the biography of the hero was focused on well-known literary samples and justified by the author’ s desire for creativity outside the narrow framework of historical verisimilitude. The trilogy was written as an adventurous historical novel with many events that did not exist in Pleshcheev’s life. Nevertheless, the narrative of Pleshcheev’s incredible adventures was combined with the use of archival documents, which were quoted for the first time on the pages of the trilogy. Thus, the article presents evidence of Glumov’s acquaintance with the unpublished letters of Aleksey Pleshcheev to Vasily Zhukovsky for 1809-1841. Glumov quoted excerpts from eight letters of the poet from 1812-1814. However, his attitude to this historical source was selective, and he did not use those letters that contradicted the ideological structure of the plot and figurative constructions of the trilogy. For example, the ridicule in Pleshcheev’s letter about Zhukovsky’s joining the militia in 1812 turned out to be inappropriate, as well as the call for him to immediately leave the theater of military operations and return to the family shelter. Glumov used another letter to date Pleshcheev’s opera Forced Marriage, but did not mention the contents of this letter, which spoke of Pleshcheev’s wife as a coquette, crossing out the novelist’s constructions about the tragedy she allegedly experienced in the tsar’s palace. Glumov’s trilogy was intended for a highly educated reader, but could not fully satisfy him, since it left behind a lot of questions about the reality of a number of events presented in Pleshcheev’s biography. This can explain the absence of reviews of the trilogy and references to it in research papers, since it is extremely difficult to separate genuine biographical events from fictional ones in the work. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

Топонимические и фольклорные корни «Пряди о Сельторире»

Selþórir, or Þórir the Seal, Grímsson, descended from the nobility of southwestern Norway, is one of the most famous first settlers of the Western Quarter of Iceland. A þáttr about him (original manuscripts caption “Frá Selþori”) is included in the second part of the medieval Icelandic historical work “The Book of the Settlements” (Landnámabók). The þáttr speaks not only of Þórir receiving a nickname, but also reveals the meanings of toponyms included in his possessions. As in many other þættir of the Landnámabók, in the one we are studying there are motives for predicting the place of a future settlement (in our case, the prediction is merman) and irrational determination of the place of settlement (in this þáttr with the help of a horse). However, the rich concentration of supernatural beings (not only the merman, but also the troll and the helper horse act in the þáttr) and events (predictions, posthumous “going uphill”) distinguishes it from a number of other þættir of the Landnámabók. At the same time, discrepancies in the editions of the Landnámabók (they are few in relation to the entire volume of the þáttr, but they are significant and reflect the rethinking of the text by the authors of the earlier editions) reveal the desire of the author of the Hauksbók edition, Haukr Erlendsson, to level the folklore component. It is also noteworthy that the folklore elements present in the þáttr can be attributed to fairly common Western Scandinavian motifs. Tracing the Celtic influence on the images of characters and plot twists, in our opinion, looks like a stretch. In addition, most of the plots of the þáttr are toponymic legends. Within the framework of this single þáttr, the meanings of five Icelandic toponyms are revealed at once: Grímsey (“Grim’s Island”), Skálmarnes (“Skalm’s Ness”), Skálmarkelda (“Skalm’s Well”), Rauðamel (“Red Sandbank”), Borgarhraun (“Wilderness of Castle”) and Þórisberg (“Þórir’s Mount”). Thus, it turns out that the Selþórisþáttr is present in the Landnámabók as a toponymic tradition, most likely of oral origin.

По дантовскому следу: семантика сюжетной организации мистико-философского триптиха Вяч. Иванова («Сфинкс», «Врата», «Миры возможного»)

The article examines the symbolic and philosophical semantics of the plot structure of the poetic triptych Vyach. Ivanov “Sphinx”, “Gates”, “Worlds of the Possible”. The poetic logic of the connection between these poems is established, the unifying element of which is the concept of the initiatory path, widespread in the intellectual and mystical atmosphere of the early twentieth century. It is proved that the author follows in the footsteps of Dante’s “Divine Comedy”, seeing in him a poet who opens paths in the symbolic and philosophical comprehension of the world. At the same time, however, Vyach. Ivanov also finds his own ways of artistic interpretation of plot twists, deviating from the “Dantean Code”. The idea of the poet’s metaphysical ascent to the Higher spheres of Being is largely embodied by the figure of the hero-narrator, who goes through an initiatory path and as a result of which the unity of the macro and microcosm of the world and man is revealed to him.

Хронотоп предвоенной Италии в "новелле о художнике" Томаса Манна ("Смерть в Венеции", "Марио и волшебник")

The objective of the research is to provide a detailed description of the key aspects of existential borderline experience underlying the chronotope of Thomas Mann’s novellas Death in Venice (1912) and Mario and the Magician (1930). Methods employed in the study include close reading, biographical approach, and motivic analysis. The novelty of the research lies in the suggested approach that allows studying Mann’s novellas from a new perspective and shedding an additional light on their poetics and historical and philosophical context. The research is conducted with the use of methodology based on theoretical literary studies and historical literary works of H. Kurzke, H. Böhm, K. MüllerSalget, J. Hurta, M. Dirks, M. Beller, M. ReichRanicki, M. Bakhtin, S. Nekhludov, Y. Lotman, V. Tyupa, and others. The results of the analysis of the poetics of Mann’s novellas in the aspect of their space and time show that the chronotope in Mann’s “Künstlernovelle” Death in Venice and Mario and the Magician, correlated by the Italian theme, forms sociopolitical, individual-creative, psychological, and geomedical aspects. Being one of the most fundamental genre mediums in Mann’s novellas, the chronotope, on the one hand, serves as a genre-shaper and, on the other hand, absorbs genre dominants of the novellas. Unexpected plot twists in the novellas reinforced by the tragic endings intensify the strained situation and hopelessness in the prewar Italy and the intimidating nature of liminal circumstances. The suspenseful plot accelerates the development of the chronotope: from a desired holiday destination to a repulsive place of death. The space structure of Mann’s novella takes active part in literary senseformation supported by the motivic field of an Italian “local text”. Not only Gustav von Aschenbach’s spiritual crisis, but also a cholera pandemic affects the space structure of the novella Death in Venice. At first, the narrator and the protagonist look up and broadwise (pre-cholera space) and then inside and down: this reflects close inner optics of a deceased carried to Hades. The genre isolation of the novella Mario and the Magician is intensified by the chronotope, in particular, by the space-time dome above Torre di Venere. The literary time in Mario and the Magician is enclosed with an emotional veil: the memory lane that forms the basis of the novella “is shrouded in heavy atmosphere” and gravitates towards the sense of liminality. The picture of intertwined loci inside the Italian chrinotope in Mann‘s Death in Venice and Mario the Magician demonstrates the principles of mirroring and complementarity. The locus of a restaurant in the two novellas can be regarded as a micro model of their whole spaceand-time domains. The loci of boat (Death in Venice) and of stage (Mario and the Magician) expose the reality and form the image of actuality.

Storytelling as Inverse Inverse Planning.

Great storytelling takes us on a journey the way ordinary reality rarely does. But what exactly do we mean by this "journey?" Recently, literary theorist Karin Kukkonen proposed that storytelling is "probability design:" the art of giving an audience pieces of information bit by bit, to craft the journey of their changing beliefs about the fictional world. A good "probability design" choreographs a delicate dance of certainty and surprise in the reader's mind as the story unfolds from beginning to end. In this paper, we computationally model this conception of storytelling. Building on the classic Bayesian inverse planning model of human social cognition, we treat storytelling as inverse inverse planning: the task of choosing actions to manipulate an inverse planner's inferences, and therefore a human audience's beliefs. First, we use an inverse inverse planner to depict social and physical situations, and present behavioral studies indicating that inverse inverse planning produces more expressive behavior than ordinary "naïve planning." Then, through a series of examples, we demonstrate how inverse inverse planning captures many storytelling elements from first principles: character, narrative arcs, plot twists, irony, flashbacks, and deus ex machina are all naturally encoded in the flexible language of probabilitydesign.

The Ideological Characteristics of Balzac’s Novel “The Magic Skin”

This article details the work of the French realist writer Honore de Balzac, “The Magic Skin.” The use of opposites is an important feature of Balzac's romantic work in the novel The The Magic Skin. Contrasting additions serve to show the evolution of the image of the main character and the restoration of his thoughts and mental states; they are used to describe the main characters of the novel and describe the location of the action, the main plot twists; they also play an essential role in realistic depiction. The interpretation of the fantastic element of the work is also revealed. O. De Balzac’s novel “The Magic Skin” shows the superiority of the romantic creative style.

Fairy Tale Motifs in the Slavic Universe of Marta Krajewska

Marta Krajewska’s series of novels forming the so-called Slavic universe (Idź i czekaj mrozów, 2016, Zaszyj oczy wilkom, 2017 Wezwijcie moje dzieci, 2021) is characterized by noticeable generic syncretism, with fairy tales playing an important role in the construction of the presented world. In her trilogy, the author draws on the most popular, universal fairy tale motifs recorded in international catalogues as well as in Polska bajka ludowa w układzie systematycznym (The Systematic Catalogue of the Polish Folk Tale) by Julian Krzyżanowski, using as the basis of her own story. Krajewska applies the plot patterns of these fairy tales (T. 400A “Urvasi”, T. 333 “Little Red Riding Hood”, T. 425 “The Quest for a Lost Husband”) in the construction of the fates of her protagonists; they also appear by way of folkloric quotes, present, for example, in dialogue replies of the characters. In the narratives of the novels, the writer also devotes a lot of space to the phenomenon of oral transmission of fairy tales, characteristic of folk tradition, and the function of this phenomenon in the life of the local community. However, the numerous references to folk tradition do not mean that Krajewska recreates the logic of selected motifs established in the folk tradition, with their characteristic intentionality and moral messages. The main novelty of the literary approach to traditional tales (especially the story of Little Red Riding Hood) lies in the author’s departure from the fairy tale’s warning role and in her focus on the ambivalence of fascination and horror evoked in the heroine by the figure of the wolf, which in the narrative structure initiates a complex love story with dramatic complications and frequent plot twists, leading, however, towards a happy ending.

The Impact of Political Defection on Democratic Stability: A Case Study of India

Political defection, the act of elected representatives changing party affiliations, poses a significant challenge to democratic stability. This research paper aims to analyze the impact of political defection on democratic stability, focusing on the Indian political landscape as a case study. By examining the historical context, legal framework, and consequences of defections in India, this study seeks to shed light on the implications for democratic governance and the overall health of the political system. In the vibrant tapestry of Indian democracy, political defection has emerged as a captivating and controversial phenomenon. This enthralling case study investigates the far-reaching consequences of political defections on the cherished democratic stability of India. As a nation that cherishes its democratic ethos, India grapples with the implications of elected representatives switching allegiances from one party to another. Diving deep into the historical and political backdrop of defections in India, this study unravels the fascinating motives driving such actions. The irresistible allure of power, ideological shifts, personal aspirations, and tantalizing political incentives are just some of the riveting aspects explored. By analyzing the legal and constitutional dimensions, including the Anti-Defection Law, the study brings to light the intricate web of regulations seeking to contain this captivating political dance. Embarking on a captivating mixed-methods journey, the study ventures into the hearts and minds of key political figures and experts through thrilling interviews, unearthing primary data that electrifies the analysis. Drawing upon thrilling secondary data from media sources, official records, and scholarly works, patterns emerge, presenting a vivid portrait of the impact of political defections on democratic stability. As the mystery unfolds, the study reveals the gripping consequences of defections on the delicate balance of power within legislative bodies. Suspense builds as shifts in government composition and policies come to light, sending shockwaves through the political landscape. Amidst this intriguing drama, the study delves into the profound implications for public trust in the democratic process. Suspicion lingers as citizens ponder whether these enthralling defections are driven by self-interest or the true pursuit of the nation's welfare. In a tale of intrigue, the study exposes the enigmatic enforcement of the Anti-Defection Law, with loopholes threatening to shatter democratic stability. Coalition dynamics, policy-making, and the resilience of political parties become part of this captivating narrative, unveiling how defections can determine the fate of governments and even reshape the very fabric of the party system. As the climax approaches, the study beckons policymakers and political actors to confront the gripping challenges posed by political defections. With plot twists and turns, it lays out irresistible policy recommendations to fortify the Anti-Defection Law, nurture intra-party discipline, and illuminate the path toward a more transparent and accountable political realm.

Переклад і переспів як форми міжлітературної взаємодії (на матеріалі українськомовного перевтілення балад Р. Бернза)

The concept of artistic translation, and the criteria for its requirements, are constantly evolving: what used to be considered a translation, now, based on a vastly expanded range of forms of inter-artistic interaction and intertextuality, qualifies translation, as a rehash process, as imitation, motifs’ creation, stylisation, adaptation, transplantation, borrowing, processing, citation, figurative analogy, reminiscence. Mixing them sometimes leads to arbitrary interpretations of the translation freedom degree. Ideally, the translator should know perfectly, in addition to his native language, the language and culture of the people whose literature they are working on to be congenial to the author of the original to create not only in a rational but also in an emotional register, with complete spiritual dedication. Such was the master of Ukrainian translation Mykola Lukash, who could perfectly harmonise antinomies of spirit/letter, content/form, and more. Entirely original are his transformations of Robert Burn’s ballads. The author compares the versions of the interpretation of R. Burn’s ballad “My Heart’s in the Highlands” by P. Grabovsky, V. Mysyk, S. Karavanskyi, V. Chernyshenko, M. Lukash, and concludes that the freest and melodic one is the rehash attempt by M. Lukash. This is probably the most related to folk motifs variation on the famous work of Robert Burns. The ballad “The Lass that Made the Bed for Me” is the most popular in today’s media space. Ever since the Soviet times, the translation of this ballad, made by Samuel Marshak, is still considered a classic one in the trade of translation, where both the substantive and formal parameters of the original are pretty accurately reproduced. While interpreting this ballad, Mykola Lukash also gives another name – “Adventure” – and chooses not to translate but to rehash it, without distorting the spirit of the original and, at the same time, adapting it to the mental spirit of the target audience. A masterpiece by Robert Burns, retaining the plot twists and psychological nuances Lukash re-chanted it not in the original’s lyrical size, but on the motif of the Ukrainian folk song “Oh, a girl went to pick up mushrooms” [Oѳj divchyѳ na poѳ hrybyѳ khodyѳ la]. This is evidenced not only by the rhythmic-melodic coherence but also by the lexical matches.

Succession plot twist

Succession plot twist

Saverio Mercadante and the Neapolitan flute school of the early 19th century. A dramma buffo on the historically informed approach

Mercadante’s flute works are among the most beloved 19th-century Italian compositions for this instrument. So far, no study has been undertaken to develop a specific historically informed performance practice for them. In order to do so, I first analysed the Italian flute history in the first half of the 19th century, which revealed a great influence of foreign instruments and methods on local flute makers and players; secondly, I studied the Neapolitan flute school during Mercadante’s lifetime (1795-1870) and discovered which instruments were in use, which methods were kept at the Conservatory Library, and who were the most successful contemporary players. Finally, I focused on Mercadante’s biography and created a detailed catalogue of his flute works, which includes bibliographical indications of manuscripts and editions, musicological details and historical notes (when available). This process revealed that the greatest part of such pieces was composed between 1813 and 1820, that is, while he was studying at the Neapolitan Conservatory. Once my theoretical investigations were completed, I approached the practical part of my research by following the performance practice instructions of Hugot-Wunderlich’s flute method, whose French original edition is kept in the Conservatory library since Mercadante’s study years. However, an important detail that I discovered at this research stage forced me at once to discard my entire methodological process. This true operatic plot twist - dramatic and yet funny - turned my thesis into a dramma buffo. It forced me to completely rethink my methodology and even what the concept of “historically informed” means to me.