A Question of Identity: The Proto-Giulio Characters in Michael Mirolla's Formal Logic of Emotion and Their Relationship to Future Giulios (Critical Essay‪)‬

Introduction This article proposes to examine the connection (if any) and the implications of that connection or lack thereof between two characters, both named "Giulio," in Canadian author Michael Mirolla's 1992 short story collection The Formal Logic of Emotion. Specifically, the paper concentrates on two short stories in that collection: the opening one entitled "A Theory of Discontinuous Existence" and the closing one called "The Proper Country." The two stories mark the first time that the "Giulio" character appeared in Mirolla's writing, and serve as the introduction of what could be called the Ur--or Proto-Giulio from which other "Giulios" have cascaded down through the years.