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Time and the Aquatic Uncle

It may be a little hard to get into the concept of “The Aquatic Uncle” by Italo Calvino, as one rarely reads stories about the social lives of the prehistoric reptiles/amphibians who evolved from ocean life. Though, while the concept is strange, the topics Calvino discusses in this short story are almost domestic with how much we read about them, especially today: the progress of society and how one progresses with it.

Like in our world, the characters live in a world where society progresses at an exponential rate. Their ancestors began as near fish, but their society has been moving onto land more and more, with very few still staying within the water. Our protagonist’s uncle is one of these few. Although his family begs him to return to land with them, he doesn’t budge an inch and stays within the water. Some are already evolved almost fully for land, such as the protagonist’s fiancée, who hasn’t seen a water-dweller before meeting the uncle. Then there are those in between, such as our protagonist, Qfwfq, who must acknowledge his aquatic heritage but looks at the full land dwellers as the epitome of beauty.

The story’s main discussion is of how all of the characters relate to their past. The uncle is stuck and stubborn in that he refuses to move on from the past and barely acknowledges the progression of the times. The uncle embarrasses Qfwfq and most of his family. Qfwfq knows about the past and doesn’t necessarily like it. The fiancée, on the other hand, knew nothing about water-dwelling life. When she learns about it she’s fascinated. This fascination leads to her falling in love with the uncle because he’s unlike anyone she’s ever met.

The overall moral is to be aware of the past, the present, and where the future may be going. Qfwfq, in the last paragraph, says that he’s happy with who he is despite everything. He’s happy to be an amphibian who dwells on land. His knowledge of both past and present enables him to understand past and appreciate where society is headed, rather than being sheltered on either side. Not being exposed to one end of society or the other isn’t helpful, as you’ll go to extremes once you’re exposed - being stubborn or almost too open-minded, as is the case with the uncle and the fiancée.
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