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Ippolito Nievo’s Pisana and Goliarda Sapienza’s Modesta : female heroism as a challenge to gendered configurations of the nation

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Bazzoni, Alberica (2019) Ippolito Nievo’s Pisana and Goliarda Sapienza’s Modesta : female heroism as a challenge to gendered configurations of the nation. The Italianist, 39 (3). pp. 332-346. doi:10.1080/02614340.2019.1679451 ISSN 0261-4340.

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/02614340.2019.1679451

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Abstract

This article draws a parallel between Ippolito Nievo’s Pisana in Le confessioni d’un italiano (1867) and Modesta, the protagonist of Goliarda Sapienza’s L’arte della gioia (1998). It argues that, in the characterization of these two exceptional figures, female heroism emerges as a radical rebellion against the role imposed on women by nationalist discourses of their time. Both Modesta and Pisana stand as rebellious heroines, fundamentally different from the traditional angelic/seductress dyad as well as from the position of victims. They unsettle sanctioned patterns of morality and social roles, calling into question the values that inform women’s sense of national belonging. This article also points out a significant difference between the two novels: while Nievo, like most critics, condemns Pisana’s ‘selfish’ behaviour and ultimately involves her in the ideal of national identity, Sapienza never questions the rebelliousness of Modesta, who, unlike Pisana, is finally entrusted with the narration of her own story.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
P Language and Literature > PC Romance languages
P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General)
P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0080 Criticism
P Language and Literature > PQ Romance literatures
Divisions: Faculty of Arts > School of Modern Languages and Cultures > Italian
Faculty of Arts > School of Modern Languages and Cultures
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Nievo, Ippolito, 1831-1861, Sapienza, Goliarda, Heroines in literature, Italian literature -- History and criticism
Journal or Publication Title: The Italianist
Publisher: Maney Publishing
ISSN: 0261-4340
Official Date: 24 December 2019
Dates:
DateEvent
24 December 2019Published
8 May 2019Accepted
Volume: 39
Number: 3
Page Range: pp. 332-346
DOI: 10.1080/02614340.2019.1679451
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Reuse Statement (publisher, data, author rights): “This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in The Italianist on 24/12/2019, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/02614340.2019.1679451
Access rights to Published version: Restricted or Subscription Access
Date of first compliant deposit: 3 December 2019
Date of first compliant Open Access: 24 June 2021
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