30 March 2009
Regional Dualism in Christ Stopped at Eboli
'No one has ever come to this land except as an enemy, a conqueror, or a visitor devoid of understanding.' -Carlo Levi, 1946. Throughout history, racism, sexism, and discrimination, in some fashion, make a mark on society, and in some cases, define the particular era. At some time in life, most people experience discrimination, usually at the hands of a race, gender, or culture that believes it is superior to another, thus choosing to oppress those considered less than equal. Carlo Levi’s novel, Christ Stopped at Eboli, is hardly an exception to this idea. In his novel, Levi recounts his experience as an anti-fascist political exile in Lucania, referred to as Gagliano by Levi and presently referred to as Basilicata, an impoverished region of southern Italy. In his year spent as a resident/political exile of the “instep of Italy”, Levi felt the overwhelming force that is oppression within the community. What sets Levi’s novel apart from other accounts of discrimination is the source of the oppression. The southern Italians did not experience discrimination from a delinquent country or power hungry race. In fact, the discrimination came from in-house, their fellow countrymen and neighbors to the north. When attempting to decipher which came first, discrimination or poverty, one cannot avoid entertaining the notion that the two hardships go hand-in-hand with one another, one facilitating the other and vice versa. “Interpretation of the causes of dualism has in the past frequently emphasized the South's internal weaknesses and obstacles to development, including the lack of resources and 'natural poverty'” (Spooner 12). Northern Italy was closer in proximity to the hustle and bustle of the evolving European society. In the north, fascism was the popular political standpoint. Mussolini had risen to power and Italians that openly opposed him and his movement were killed, jailed, or exiled. Northerners had access to better technology, better education, and a wealth of resources, factors that moved them to award themselves the moniker “northern intellectuals” (Levi vi-vii). According to Ferrarotti’s essay: “The intellectual defines himself as the bearer of a message which constantly – and violently – takes on the form of an appeal, a manifesto, and of a declaration intended literally to disturb. In this context, the theme of “intellectual thuggery” is proposed as a polyvalent suggestion, involving, on the one hand, the relation between intellectual and political power, and, on the other, that between intellectual and public, by way of the former’s ability to provide a “cultivated” translation of the subject, acceptable as well, in terms of immediacy and efficacy, to bourgeois readers” (151). Regarding themselves as intellectuals is a reflection of the narcissism of the Northern Italians in comparison to the humble ignorance of the Southerners. Part of this reputation as intellectuals is owed to “this kind of perverse antagonistic confrontation between the “developed” and the “depressed” or cafoni (“peasants”), between Jantas 2
intellectuals who know how things are and can understand them, and the others” (Ferrarotti 141). This elitist attitude was embraced by the Northerners and was projected onto the sub-human South. The south, distant from the epicenter of European society, had yet to catch on to the fascist phenomenon. Knowing this, the government, aware of the inordinate poverty in the south, designated the region a harbor for political exiles, such as Levi, who was banished from his home in the northern town of Turin. Because of the lack of political evolution and wealth compared to that of the northerners, southerners were easily susceptible to discrimination, and because of Gagliano’s geographical setting, evolution of any kind was far enough out of reach to convince society that they were indeed subhuman, when compared to their northern counterparts. The North and South were both characterized in different ways. “The North as representing 'the Italian city' with an already-industrialized economy and a system of infrastructure of northern European standards, with a plurality of well-equipped large and medium-sized towns, and only a few islands of depression” (Spooner 12). In contrast, the South had a ‘traditional’ rather than a ‘modern’ economy. “Not only was the structure heavily skewed towards agriculture rather than industry, but in both sectors 'traditional' features dominated - in industry small-scale family-based units, artisan types of production and a reliance on local resources and markets; in agriculture a polarized land ownership pattern, antiquated techniques, lack of capital, overpopulation and underemployment” (Spooner 12). These factors, a struggling economy, raw resources, overpopulation, and underemployment, fed into the Northerners discriminatory mindset against the Southerners. The geography of poverty-stricken Gagliano was stark in contrast to the more modern north. Coleman, in his essay, makes note of Levi’s mention that it is “perched on a sort of jagged saddle rising among picturesque ravines” (Coleman). The town did not have the intellectual, well-educated population found in the north. It was comprised of a “smug Fascist mayor, a couple of ignorant doctors, a shifty town clerk”, farm animals, and spiteful, ignorant, uneducated citizens. Throughout Christ Stopped at Eboli, Levi highlights the struggles of his newfound countrymen, recounting the discrimination, oppression, and hardships experienced by a society that widely believes that they were not Christians, and that “Christ stopped short of here, at Eboli” (Levi 3). To the people of Gagliano, being Christian corresponded to being a human being, and the common belief that they were not categorized as human beings is an overt display of inferiority and hopelessness. The land was bare and desolate and there was an absence of hope and worthiness. “The title of Levi’s book is a proverbial phrase often replaced by the local peasants and which ‘in their mouths may be no more than the expression of a hopeless feeling of inferiority. We are not Christians, we’re not human beings’. Levi explains its much deeper meaning: Eboli is ‘where the road and the railway leave the coast of Salerno and turn into the desolate reaches of Lucania. Christ never came this far, nor did Jantas 3
time, nor the individual soul, nor hope, nor the relation of cause and effect, nor reason nor history’” (Licastro). Living in such poverty perpetuated to any onlooker that the inhabitants of this land maintained no boundaries with the animals the lived with, almost uniting the two at a parallel. “Men, women, and children live, literally, with animals, in one-room huts with goats, pigs, and chickens, and are presented metaphorically by means of constant reminders of the animal world, a technique, of course, not meant to dehumanize the peasantry but to suggest its closeness to the natural world” (Licastro). Levi’s depiction of the co-existence between human and animal is another prime component in how the northern Italians viewed their southern countrymen. Levi, coming to the south as a northern political exile, was recognized as “the only trusted medical man around” (Coleman), despite not having a thorough medical background. His nearly complete background in the practice of medicine, however, was far more than that of any current inhabitant of Gagliano. Cristo si è fermato a Eboli, Italian director Francesco Rosi’s film adaptation of Levi’s novel, aligned itself closely with the novel, visually depicting the landscape, oppression, and cultural signifiers of the downtrodden Basilicata region of Italy. The 1979 film was originally aired as a TV movie, later being released on video as it gained popularity. Since its release, the film has garnered a wealth of awards: the Moscow International Film Festival’s Golden Prize (1979), the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists’ Silver Ribbon for Best Supporting Actress (1979), the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics’ Critics Award for Best Foreign Film (1981), the David di Donatello Award for Best Director and Best Film (1979), and the BAFTA award for Best Foreign Language Film (1983). Rosi’s film was integral in visualizing the remoteness of the locale as well as the control Fascist’s exuded over the southern Italians. Throughout the film, the barren, mountainous landscape was always prominent, regardless of scene. Early in the film, when Levi is being transported from his original place of exile, Matera, to Gagliano, the driver of his vehicle mentioned that his vehicle is the only one in town, and that it is used weekly to transport the Mayor and other politicians to their out-of-town obligations (Cristo). The mountainous region produced almost no vegetation, and the film depicted this quite well in that the ground was typically rocky and plagued by dust. The idea that the livestock were co-tenants with society was also prevalent. Frequently, chickens had to be scared away or yelled at in order for Levi and his acquaintances to carry about their business uninterrupted. Rosi’s depiction of the regional politics was also close to Levi’s depiction. In the film, Levi writes to his sister, but before she receives his letter, Levi is questioned by the town mayor and informed that if the Fascist government, centered in Rome, comes into possession of the letter, negative repercussions, worse than his current punishment of exile, will inevitably ensue. This is a prime example of the Fascist control over the remote state of Basilicata despite its lack of a physical presence. Jantas 4
Also important to both the novel and film is how the Basilicata populous clung to the few people that were of importance to them. Levi, who had a medical background but was not a licensed physician, immediately realized his value as a doctor. He was initially consulted to treat an ailing older woman who was bed-ridden and wheezing with pain (Cristo). Significant was the woman’s adamancy in not removing an object from her forehead, which she believed was a metaphysical symbol staving off her sickness, despite Levi’s advice. Later in the film, Levi is barred from practicing medicine by the government. Enraged, his newfound countrymen started a petition in order to have him reinstated, showing how much the town truly valued anyone with experience or tools which were unavailable to them to due the stranglehold the Fascists maintained over them. The problem of regional dualism isn’t as prevalent today as it was in Levi’s time, but tension still lingers between the cultural sects. Today, southern Italy has better access to resources that the north have always had, and that has resulted in the south being more up to speed politically and educationally. Where the south falls short is in the agricultural and economical arenas. The geography of the region remains the same, and the south will always be slightly behind their more modern northern countrymen. Christ Stopped at Eboli was one of the first, if not the most pictorial depiction of regional dualism in Italy, bringing the “problem of the south” to the forefront of international attention.
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Works Cited
Coleman, John. "Two Italies." 30 Apr. 1982. New Statesman. Literature Resource Center. Ramapo College of New Jersey, Mahwah. 07 Mar. 2009. Cristo si è fermato a Eboli. Dir. Francesco Rosi. Perf. Gian Maria Volontè and Paolo Bonacelli. VHS. Radiotelevisione Italiana, 1979. Ferrarotti, Franco. "Terrorism and the Tradition of Intellectual Elitism in Italy." 1981. PRAXIS International. Central and Eastern European Online Library. 15 Mar. 2009