City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2012 (Re)Forming Italians: Children's Literature in Italy, 1929-1939 Marisa Giorgi Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1703 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] (RE)FORMING ITALIANS: CHILDREN‟S LITERATURE IN ITALY, 1929-1939 by Marisa Giorgi A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Comparative Literature in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2012 Marisa Giorgi ii © 2012 MARISA GIORGI All Rights Reserved Marisa Giorgi iii This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Comparative Literature in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Eugenia Paulicelli _______________ ______________________________ Date Chair of Examining Committee André Aciman _______________ _______________________________ Date Executive Officer Giancarlo Lombardi__________________________________ Paolo Fasoli_________________________________________ Ruth Ben-Ghiat______________________________________ Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK Marisa Giorgi iv Abstract (RE)FORMING ITALIANS: CHILDREN‟S LITERATURE IN ITALY, 1929-1939 by Marisa Giorgi Adviser: Eugenia Paulicelli My dissertation argues for the centrality of children‟s literature under Fascism as a tool to bring about the ultimate goal of forming the “new” Italian. This project examines the relationship between children‟s literature, the creation of culture and the transmission of ideology in Fascist Italy. I chose the period 1929-1939 because this decade encompasses the years the regime actively sought consolidation of power and consensus, as well as the years of the fascistization of Italian schools. These novels are conduits of fascist ideology veiled as adventure stories, historical novels, bildungsroman or romantic fiction for children and young adults and deserve scholarly attention. The aim of children‟s literature is ostensibly to impart life-lessons, however, this seemingly benign goal takes on a different meaning in the context of a totalitarian regime. Children‟s literature, an extension of popular literature, reveals the cultural dynamics of a society and the values it holds most important. Children‟s novels from 1930s Italy contain valuable insights into the ways the regime attempted to mold the “new” Italian, imbuing the youngest and most impressionable minds and bodies with fascist values. There is a current need for research that pokes and probes fascist hegemony during the 1930s. My dissertation‟s analysis of children‟s literature from 1929-1939 aims to fill this void. Marisa Giorgi v Acknowledgments I could not have realized this project without the help of many people along the way. I would like to thank those who have contributed in one way or another to the completion of my dissertation. I thank my adviser, Eugenia Paulicelli, for her thoughtful comments and edits on the drafts of my dissertation, and also for directing me to the Biblioteca di Storia Contemporanea Alfredo Oriani in Ravenna, where I found the treasure trove of children‟s literature that would become the basis of my dissertation. I would like to thank the other members of my dissertation committee, Giancarlo Lombardi, Paolo Fasoli and Ruth Ben-Ghiat for their advice and support over the years. I am exceptionally grateful to my dear friend, Paola Bonifazio, for reading the earliest drafts of the dissertation. I have consistently relied on her guidance and encouragement from my earliest days as a graduate student. I am thankful to her and many friends, in particular, Valeria Castelli, Laura Di Bianco and Jonathan Mullins for their companionship while researching and writing the dissertation and for their constant encouragement. I would like to thank the librarians at the Biblioteca di Storia Contemporanea Alfredo Oriani in Ravenna, especially Daniela Bartolini, Mirco Bonanni and Alberico Stanghellini whose kindness and helpfulness was greatly appreciated while I was conducting the research necessary for this dissertation. I thank my mother, Kathleen Murphy, who taught me from a young age the importance of both learning and teaching. I am incredibly grateful to my loving husband, Raj Nath, whose unwavering support and encouragement throughout this, at times difficult, process has been Marisa Giorgi vi invaluable. Lastly, I thank our son, Kieran, for making me smile and inspiring me to complete this dissertation. Marisa Giorgi vii Table of Contents Abstract iv Acknowledgments v List of Illustrations ix Introduction 1 Chapter 1: The New Man 1.1 Introduction 16 1.2 World War One Narratives: Guerra! and La grande diana 19 1.3 Conclusion 43 Chapter 2: Growing Up “Fascist” 2.1 Introduction 47 2.2 Narratives of Conversion: Alza bandiera! and I piccoli diverranno grandi 51 2.3 The Right Role Model: Soldatini d’ogni giorno 76 2.4 Conclusion 86 Chapter 3: The New Woman 3.1 Introduction 89 Marisa Giorgi viii 3.2 Mothers for the Patria: Mammetta fascista and Il richiamo dei fratelli 93 3.3 Conclusion 113 Chapter 4: Women Writing for Women 4.1 Introduction 117 4.2 New Models for the New Woman: La via del Falco and La conquista di Albanara 123 4.3 Strong Women: Camilla Del Soldato‟s Il focolare 144 4.4 Conclusion 158 Conclusion 162 Bibliography 170 Marisa Giorgi ix List of Illustrations 1. Cibanti dressed as a Black Shirt 45 2. Martino dressed as a soldier 45 3. Fra‟ Tamburo pre-war experience 46 4. Fra‟ Tamburo carrying a wounded soldier 46 5. Delfina and Giovanni‟s wedding 116 6. Don Cesare and fascist Milizia 117 7. Marilena and country girls 162 Marisa Giorgi 1 Introduction C‟è nel ragazzo e nel giovanetto, un incoercibile bisogno d‟imitazione,…di perfezionamento, per il quale il fanciullo tende sempre a rifare le azioni, ad assumere gli atteggiamenti dell‟adulto e di chi ritiene superiore a se stesso.… il fanciullo tende sempre a ripetere ciò che lo distingue dai suoi compagni, lo eleva, lo avvicina a colui che ha scelto come modello…. (Giovanazzi 18) In 1938, a National Convention for Children‟s Literature1 was held in Bologna, where Giuseppe Giovanazzi2 pronounced the above quote in his presentation: “Gusti letterari dei ragazzi.” The aim of this conference was to discuss the state of children‟s literature in Fascist Italy and address its purpose as well as ways to make it more effective with regard to the regime‟s goal of forming the “new” Italian. This conference and its proceedings support my argument that children‟s leisure-time literature was used as a means of inculcating fascist values in Italy‟s youth. Indeed, in the very same article, Giovanazzi states: “Il Convegno di Bologna affermò in modo inequivocabile la necessità di una letteratura infantile e giovanile, che abbia l‟impronta etica ed artistica della nostra Mussoliniana Italia imperiale” (25). My premise that the novels I examine were meant to provide attainable, positive role models for children to imitate is sustained by Giovanazzi, who emphasizes children‟s desire to imitate what they see, hear and read. While the aim of literature for children is ostensibly to impart life-lessons and to form well-adjusted members of society, these seemingly benign goals take on another meaning in the context of a totalitarian regime. The meaning and intent of these materials must be considered 1 The conference was organized by the “Ente Nazionale per Le Biblioteche Popolari e Scolastiche” and the “Sindacato Nazionale Fascista Autori e Scrittori.” 2 Giovanazzi was an author of children‟s books, several of which were published in the Bemporad series, “I libri dell‟ardimento,” including: Per l’Italia e per la mamma (1934); La grotta dell’orso (1936); La culla tra le congiure (1938); Il talismano conteso (1939); L’arciere infallibile (1934). Marisa Giorgi 2 within the larger socio-historical context of Italian Fascism, and in particular Mussolini‟s goal to reform Italians—the “anthropological revolution,” as Emilio Gentile has coined it. Mussolini‟s sexual politics were the driving force behind this anthropological revolution, and thus, the re- formation of the Italian people was divided along gender lines. My dissertation examines children‟s novels from the fascist period and their contribution to the formation of the “new” Italian. I argue that they contain valuable insight to the role of fascist ideology in Italian society and Mussolini‟s attempt to create the “new” Italian. I analyze and compare the leisure-time novels under study, recognizing them as important relics of fascist culture. Focusing on the types of role models—proposed along gender lines—depicted in these novels, I examine how Mussolini‟s sexual politics and fascist ideology is communicated to children. These materials deserve a close and careful reading because they are rich and valuable artifacts of Fascism. There is no study in either English or Italian that examines children‟s literature as a product of fascist culture, nor is there a study that analyzes and compares these leisure-time novels. My dissertation aims to fill this critical void. My research relies on the regime‟s ever increasing attempts to establish hegemony and gain social and cultural consent throughout the ventennio and builds on the work of some of the foremost scholars of Italian Fascism, in particular, Emilio Gentile, Sandro Bellassai, Victoria De Grazia and Luisa Passerini. My dissertation addresses the variety of ways the regime attempted to create a culture of Fascism and build consent, with special attention to the inculcation of children through literature. Patrizia Dogliani and Luisa Passerini have identified the Fascist youth organizations as one of the most successful programs that the regime implemented (169; Mussolini 184) and one of the primary ways Fascism was able to achieve hegemony.