Presentia

Presentia is the place of exile and eventual reunion in the embedded fairy-tale narrative: Prince Girolamo is transported there after breaking a fairy’s condition, and Momo reaches it while searching for him. In this land, royal identity gives way to poverty and obscurity, bringing the two former lovers together without their initially recognizing one another.

Definition and Role

Presentia is contrasted with Futuria, the prince’s kingdom and former home. The fairy’s terms make it the consequence of a broken promise: if Girolamo looks at the moon during the year-long prohibition, he will lose his royal possessions, forget who he is, and be transported to Presentia to live as a poor, unknown person. The land is thus bound to a reversal of status and identity, rather than presented through a detailed account of its geography or society.

Arrivals and Exile

Momo sets out for Presentia after waiting in vain for the prince to appear. She leaves her stained-glass palace and travels down the snow-covered mountainside, continuing across the world until her slippers wear out and she must go barefoot. Throughout the journey, the magic mirror carrying her reflection continues to soar overhead.

Girolamo, meanwhile, breaks the fairy’s condition when he looks up and sees Momo’s tear in the mirror’s reflection. Realizing that the fairy has deceived him about her beauty and that Momo is his true love, he is punished: she ties a knot in his heart, and he forgets that he was Prince of Futuria. He wanders to Presentia under the name Guido, poor and obscure, with only Momo’s reflection; the magic mirror is blank thereafter.

The Meeting in the Ruin

By the time Momo and Guido meet in an ancient ruin in Presentia, neither recognizes the other. She no longer looks like a princess, wearing a patchwork dress and an oversized cast-off jacket, while he appears to her as a poor, good-for-nothing man. They become companions in misfortune and console one another, though the shared hardship does not restore their memories.

The reflection eventually makes recognition possible. When Guido shows Momo the crumpled, faded image, she knows it as the reflection she sent around the world and realizes that the man beside her is the prince she sought. But Guido cannot remember: the knot in his heart prevents him from accepting her account. Presentia therefore provides the setting for their reunion while preserving the separation imposed by the fairy’s curse.