The translation of American radical feminist literature in Italy. The case of Donne è bello. Submitted by Elena Basilio to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Italian In September 2014 This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. Signature: ………………………………………………………….. 1 2 Acknowledgments This thesis would not have been completed without the help and support of many people. First of all I would like to thank Dr. Danielle Hipkins and Dr. Richard Mansell for their valuable guidance, constant support and encouragement and great patience. I also need to thank Dr. Ting Guo and Dr. Olga Castro who have provided me with insightful comments on some parts of my thesis. I am also grateful to Dr. Ruth Ann Henderson for having introduced me to Translation Studies and for having supported me during the application process. During the process of researching and writing this thesis I had the opportunity to meet many women who have helped and inspired my research. First of all I would like to thank Serena Castaldi for her long interview and her interest in my project, and other Anabasi members, Michela Gusmeroli and Bruna Felletti, for having shared their views and memories with me. I also want to thank Laura Milani of the Fondazione Badaracco, Patrizia Celotto of the Casa delle Donne and Natascia de Matteis of the Centro Studi Documentazione Pensiero Femminile for their willingness to meet my special needs during my archival research. Finally, I am also grateful to Dr. Alyson Hallett, who facilitated the task of writing up my thesis with special attention and great irony. Finally, I would like to thank my family and in particular Ezio, who has always provided me with steady and vital support. This thesis is dedicated to my aunt Margherita and my mother Vittoria, who have inspired me with their memories. 3 Abstract This thesis analyses the role played by the translation process in the diffusion of some North American radical feminist concepts in Italy and, in particular, focuses on Donne è bello, a volume which has been selected as a case study because of the particularly important role it played within the Italian feminist movement and also because of the particular circumstances of its creation. The introduction (chapter one) states the research questions and briefly explains the reasons that led to the focus on this specific volume. Chapter two focuses on the methodology adopted, which was inspired by Toury’s descriptive translation analysis but was also adapted to the needs and characteristics of this research. Chapter three provides some basic historical information regarding the Italian and North American feminist movements. Particular attention is devoted to the second wave of feminism in both countries and to the characteristics that they had in common. Subsequently, chapter four focuses on the Anabasi movement and on the volume Donne è bello, which constitutes the focus of this research. This chapter also provides some unpublished information about the Anabasi collective and about Donne è bello provided by Serena Castaldi, the founder of this group. The second half of this thesis (chapters five, six and seven) concerns the textual analysis of some features of Donne è bello in order to reconstruct the translation process and assess the reception of the translation by Italian readers. In particular, the aspects analysed include the sexual revolution, the role traditionally played by women in society and the practice of consciousness-raising, which had great importance for Italian feminists. Finally, chapter eight summarizes the results of the research and provides answers to the research questions raised in the introduction. 5 Table of Contents 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 9 2. Methodology ................................................................................................. 15 3. The radical feminist movement in Italy and in the United States ............. 41 3.1. The Italian first-wave feminist movement and the conditions of Italian women during both World Wars. ........................................................................................ 41 3.2. The historical context of the Italian second-wave feminist movement. ..... 48 3.3. Main characteristics and strands of feminism in the United States. .......... 66 4. The Anabasi collective and Donne è bello ................................................. 77 4.1. History and main characteristics of the Anabasi group ............................. 77 4.2. Donne è bello ............................................................................................ 85 5. Sexuality and sexual revolution in Donne è bello. .................................. 101 5.1. Introduction ............................................................................................. 101 5.2. Sexuality and sexual revolution in the United States and in Italy. ........... 102 5.3. “Donna liberata”: analysis of this term with reference to the American and Italian contexts of use ..................................................................................................... 117 5.4. The use of offensive vocabulary in the critique of the sexual revolution. 132 5.5. Conclusions ............................................................................................. 143 6. North American feminine figures in Donne è bello’s texts. .................... 147 6.1. Introduction ............................................................................................. 147 6.2. American and Italian women at home and at work. ................................ 148 6.3. The limiting role imposed by society on women: ladies, workers, housewives and slaves. ........................................................................................................... 156 6.4. “Manifesto di Bitch”: how feminists described themselves. ..................... 169 6.5. Conclusions ............................................................................................. 184 7. Feminist practices ...................................................................................... 191 7.1. Introduction ............................................................................................. 191 7.2. Consciousness-raising: An analysis of the American influence of this practice on Italian collectives. ................................................................................................. 192 7 7.3. Kathie Sarachild’s guide to consciousness-raising ................................. 200 7.4. “The personal is political” ........................................................................ 209 7.5. Conclusions ............................................................................................. 218 8. Conclusions. ............................................................................................... 221 9. Appendiix .................................................................................................... 237 Editorial of Donne è bello (Transcript) ................................................................. 238 Editorial of Donne è bello (Original) ..................................................................... 240 Editorial of Notes From the Second Year (Transcript). ........................................ 241 Editorial of Notes From the Second Year (Original) ............................................. 243 Table of contents of Donne è bello (Original). ..................................................... 244 Table of contents of Notes from the Second Year (Original) ............................... 247 Letter from a member of the American Women’s Liberation (Transcript) ............ 248 Letter from a member of the American Women’s Liberation (Original) ................ 252 Interview to Serena Castaldi. ............................................................................... 255 Bibliography ...................................................................................................... 261 Primary sources ................................................................................................... 261 Secondary sources .............................................................................................. 261 8 1. Introduction This research aims to study the role played by translation in the diffusion of the North-American radical feminist message in Italy. In particular, the case study selected for this analysis is Donne è bello, a volume that had a great influence in the early 70s. Translations of foreign feminist works were particularly popular in the 70s because, as Passerini explains “Gli editori si resero conto del fatto che le donne costituivano un mercato importante anche per i libri fortemente radicali” (Passerini 2005: 183). In particular, Passerini points out that in the early 70s, important books by Eva Figes, Shulamith Firestone, Kate Millett, Juliet Mitchell and Germaine Greer were translated into Italian, and considers this tendency a consequence of the important works (such as The Second Sex, which was translated into Italian in 1961 and