Italo Calvino's short story "The Second Bakery Attack," published in 1963, offers a seemingly straightforward narrative of two protagonists, an unnamed man and woman, who plan and execute a "bakery attack"—a symbolic act of defiance against a society they perceive as stifling and meaningless. However, beneath this surface action lies a profound exploration of alienation, the search for authentic connection, and the absurdity of modern existence. The story's power resides not in the literal act of rebellion but in its metaphorical resonance, presenting the "attack" as a desperate, ritualistic attempt to reclaim agency and meaning in a world that offers neither.
The initial motivation for the attack stems from a pervasive sense of dissatisfaction and a lack of genuine engagement with life. The couple feels disconnected from their surroundings and from each other, their relationship characterized by a quiet desperation rather than vibrant intimacy. The man describes their life as a "sequence of days," devoid of significant events or emotional depth. This emptiness drives them to seek an extreme, albeit absurd, form of expression. The decision to attack a bakery, specifically, is significant. Bakeries, traditionally symbols of sustenance, community, and warmth, become the target of their rebellion. This choice suggests a rejection of the very things that should provide comfort and nourishment, highlighting the depth of their disillusionment. They are not seeking to harm, but to disrupt, to provoke a reaction, to feel something real in the face of pervasive apathy.
The act of planning the attack itself becomes a source of connection for the couple. In their shared endeavor, a sense of purpose and intimacy emerges that was previously absent. They work together, devising strategies, acquiring weapons (a toy pistol and a switchblade), and rehearsing their movements. This collaborative effort, though directed towards a nonsensical goal, imbues their relationship with a temporary vitality. The man observes, "we were never so alive as in those days," revealing the paradoxical nature of their pursuit: a search for life found in the planning of a symbolic death of meaning. This underscores the story's critique of modern society, where individuals may find more purpose in manufactured conflict than in genuine living.
When the actual "attack" occurs, its anticlimactic nature becomes the story's central irony. They arrive at the bakery, ready to enact their plan, only to find it closed for a holiday. This unexpected turn reveals the inherent futility of their rebellion. Their grand gesture, their attempt to break free from the mundane, is thwarted by a simple, everyday occurrence. The "weapons" they carry, described with a mixture of seriousness and absurdity, prove useless. The story doesn't present this as a tragic failure, but rather as another facet of the absurd reality they inhabit. The moment of potential catharsis dissolves into continued emptiness, forcing them to confront the lack of tangible results from their extreme actions.
Ultimately, "The Second Bakery Attack" is not about the success or failure of a literal act of rebellion, but about the human need for meaning and connection. The couple's desire to "shake the foundations of the world" is a metaphor for their yearning to feel significant, to leave a mark, however small. Their failure to disrupt the bakery's routine highlights the overwhelming inertia of societal norms and the difficulty of achieving genuine change or even authentic experience. Calvino suggests that in a world that offers little genuine engagement, people may resort to extreme, even nonsensical, actions simply to feel alive. The story concludes with the couple moving on, the attack a fleeting, unfulfilled episode, leaving the reader to ponder the enduring struggle for meaning in a seemingly indifferent universe.