This contribution discusses the representation of rape and violence against women in late 19th century Italian literature. In doing so, I focus on a short story, La Vergine Orsola, initially written by Gabriele D’Annunzio in 1884 as part of a short story collection titled Il Libro delle Vergini, later re-published in 1902 in Le Novelle della Pescara. This contribution looks at how the idea of rape is used in this short story as a narrative escamotage to bring to the attention of the reader the question of female entitlement to sexual desire as part of a social critique that D’Annunzio brings forward in his fin-de-siècle novels and short stories.
Monash University, Australia
Chapter Title
Violence and rape in the Italian fin-de-siècle: Gabriele D’Annunzio’s “La Vergine Orsola”
Authors
Michela Barisonzi
Language
English
DOI
10.36253/978-88-5518-597-4.09
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2022
Copyright Information
© 2022 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Rewriting and Rereading the XIX and XX-Century Canons
Book Subtitle
Offerings for Annamaria Pagliaro
Editors
Samuele Grassi, Brian Zuccala
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2022
Copyright Information
© 2022 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/978-88-5518-597-4
eISBN (pdf)
978-88-5518-597-4
eISBN (xml)
978-88-5518-598-1
Series Title
Biblioteca di Studi di Filologia Moderna
Series E-ISSN
2420-8361