Fascist Fiction: Inventing the Lesser Evil in Italy and Brazil by Giulia Riccò Department of Romance Studies Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Lamonte Aidoo, Supervisor ___________________________ Roberto Dainotto ___________________________ Nicola Gavioli ___________________________ Saskia Ziolkowski Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Romance Studies in the Graduate School of Duke University 2019 i v ABSTRACT Fascist Fiction: Inventing the Lesser Evil in Italy and Brazil by Giulia Riccò Department of Romance Studies Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Lamonte Aidoo, Supervisor ___________________________ Roberto Dainotto ___________________________ Nicola Gavioli ___________________________ Saskia Ziolkowski An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Romance Studies in the Graduate School of Duke University 2019 Copyright by Giulia Riccò 2019 Abstract My dissertation, Fascist Fiction: Inventing the Lesser Evil in Italy and Brazil, accounts for the resilience of fascism by tracing the rhetoric of the “lesser evil”—a discursive practice constitutive of fascism—through contemporary politics and literature in Italy and Brazil. By invoking the looming presence of a graver, more insidious threat the rhetoric of the lesser evil legitimizes fascist violence against dissidents and vulnerable populations. Through an analysis of texts by fascist philosopher Giovanni Gentile and his Brazilian counterpart Miguel Reale, I reveal that the rhetoric of the lesser evil is a constitutive part of fascist discourse and that in Italy and Brazil this aspect of fascist doctrine met a favorable combination of subjective and objective conditions which has allowed it to thrive within democratic structures. Finally, I argue that when moral claims such as the lesser evil work to obfuscate the understanding of traumatic and violent events within the public sphere, novels––precisely because of their putative fictionality––can offer persuasive counter-histories that re-contextualize fascist crimes and sometimes provoke acts of reparative justice by the State. My dissertation advances scholarship on the transcultural reach of fascist ideology: it contributes to an understanding of fascism’s place within a broader tradition of right-wing thought that continues to shape present-day politics in Europe and the world, and enriches our perception of the powers of literary forms. iv Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv Contents .............................................................................................................................. v Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... vii Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Interpretations of Fascism and the Rhetoric of the Lesser Evil .................................... 7 1. Fascist Tupiniquim: The Italian Community in São Paulo and the Ação Integralista Brasileira ........................................................................................................................... 29 1.1 Fasci all’estero, Dopolavoro, and the Italian Community of São Paulo ............... 29 1.2 Ação Integralista Brasileira (1932-1937).............................................................. 44 1.3 Intellectuals and Politics ....................................................................................... 50 2.Fascist Intellectuals and the Lesser Evil: Giovanni Gentile and Miguel Reale ............. 59 2.1 Giovanni Gentile and the Lesser Evil ................................................................... 59 2.2 Miguel Reale and the Italianità of the Dante Alighieri ......................................... 70 2.3 The Fictional State of Miguel Reale, O Estado Moderno 1934 ............................ 79 3. The Making of 1964: a Fictional Revolution ................................................................ 96 3.1 Imperativos da revolução de março, 1964 .......................................................... 100 3.2 Memórias (1986-1987) ....................................................................................... 119 4. The Politics of Fiction: Post-Dictatorial Strategies of Forgetting and Remembering in Italy and Brazil ................................................................................................................ 140 4.1 An Inquiry into the Fascist Past: Tango e gli altri (2008) by Francesco Guccini and Loriano Macchiavelli ......................................................................................... 140 4.2 Transitional Justice in Brazil: From Nunca Mais to the Brazilian National Truth Commission .............................................................................................................. 166 v 4.3 Bernardo Kucinski’s K.: The Politics of Fiction ................................................ 183 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 204 Works Cited .................................................................................................................... 206 Biography ........................................................................................................................ 215 vi Acknowledgements First of all, I would like to thank my advisors, Lamonte Aidoo and Roberto Dainotto. Without their precious time, unconditional support, steady guidance, I would not have been able to see the connections linking Italy and Brazil. So thanks Lamonte for believing in me since day one, for endless strategizing, and for sharing the ins and outs of being a junior faculty. Roberto, thank you for the confidence you have given me, your generosity, and for the intellectual curiosity you have always shown toward the central ideas of my research. I also would like to thank Saskia Ziolkowski for her time and help during all those years. Saskia, your mentorship has played a unique role in shaping me into the scholar and educator I have become. Nicola Gavioli accepted my invitation to be part of this committee under unexpected circumstances and for this I will always be grateful to him. Thank you Nicola for your endless wisdom and helpful advice throughout (and even before!) my doctoral apprenticeship. A big thank you to Jaime Ginzburg who helped me frame the initial problem of the dissertation and facilitated my affiliation with the University of São Paulo. His comments to Chapter 3 and 4 pushed me to think more carefully about the politics involved in this dissertation. I am also grateful to Nina Schneider who hosted me at the University of Cologne and sponsored my DAAD application. Thank you Nina for your encouragement and precious feedback. My family at the Franklin Humanities Institute—Mary, Pam, Sarah, Chris, Emily—provided me not only with great opportunities but also encouragement and support throughout. Thank you for welcoming me with open arms. Last but not least, thanks to Deborah Jenson, Robin vii Kirk, Jecca Namakkal, Sam Daly, Kathryn Mathers, Gustavo Furtado, Martin Eisner, Amanda Starling Gould, Anne Garland Mahler, Jonathan Wade for sharing their ideas and experiences with me and for helping me grow as a scholar and educator. I want to thank Laurel Iber, Cole Rizki, Farren Yero, Alyssa Granacki, Anna Tybinko, and Rosalia Romero for walking with me through the ups and downs of graduate life. My fellow Italians at Duke, and in particular Erasmo Castellani, Achille Castaldo, and Laura Banella, reminded me of the perks of being an Italian abroad. Thank you for numerous burgers at Dain’s and coffee breaks at JVG on campus. My Brazilian friends and colleagues Milena Magri and Gustavo Scudeller introduced me to my beloved Joia de Minas in Jabaquara where we would have endless, inspirational conversations about politics, literature, and music. Thank you Milena and Gustavo for your warmth and kindness. I would also like to thank Bruna Della Torre Lima and Eduardo Altheman Cargos for coming into my life right when I needed them. They were a wonderful reminder of why I love São Paulo and why I needed to go back there. Bruna, thank you for your precious comments on various drafts of this project. I would also like to thank Renée Michelle Ragin for the numerous conversations that have materialized in a grant that has now concretized in a special issue. Thank you Renée for believing in our project and for always standing by my side. David Dulceany has shown me that unicorns do exist, that there is always time to bless the rains down in Africa and that a diva is nothing but a female version of a hustler. Thank you David for sharing your joy with me. Kasia Stempniak has given me the strength to continue forward at viii moments in which I was unsure about the future. That first hike on Grandfather Mountain and the hamburger that followed proved to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship which has brought us more hikes, Oscars nights, Florence and the Machine and boxing. Thank you Kasia for being a great friend. Although far away, Valentina Cova and Agnese Selmi