COPYRIGHT AND USE OF THIS THESIS This thesis must be used in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Reproduction of material protected by copyright may be an infringement of copyright and copyright owners may be entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. Section 51 (2) of the Copyright Act permits an authorized officer of a university library or archives to provide a copy (by communication or otherwise) of an unpublished thesis kept in the library or archives, to a person who satisfies the authorized officer that he or she requires the reproduction for the purposes of research or study. The Copyright Act grants the creator of a work a number of moral rights, specifically the right of attribution, the right against false attribution and the right of integrity. You may infringe the author’s moral rights if you: - fail to acknowledge the author of this thesis if you quote sections from the work - attribute this thesis to another author - subject this thesis to derogatory treatment which may prejudice the author’s reputation For further information contact the University’s Director of Copyright Services sydney.edu.au/copyright 1 Identity on the Threshold: The Myth of Persephone in Italian American Women’s Memoirs Valentina Seffer A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Italian Studies, School of Languages and Cultures, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences 2015 2 Contents Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................... 6 Abstract ....................................................................................................................... 10 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 12 The myth of Persephone .......................................................................................... 25 Re-visioning Persephone in Italian American women’s works .............................. 33 Structure of the thesis .............................................................................................. 44 Chapter 1 ..................................................................................................................... 49 ‘No more masks! No more mythologies!’ .................................................................. 49 Persephone and Italian American Women Writers’ Memoirs .................................... 49 1. Memoir and nonfiction ........................................................................................ 52 2. Autobiography and memoir: a tug-of-war .......................................................... 55 3. The memoir: negotiating voice, form, and memory ............................................ 59 4. The literary marginality of Italian American women authors ............................. 66 5. The vessel of memory through orality and storytelling ...................................... 69 6. Abduction and departure ..................................................................................... 71 7. A journey in the dark realm of memory .............................................................. 75 8. Persephone returns: the power of writing ........................................................... 80 9. Travel and myth .................................................................................................. 83 10. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 91 Chapter 2 ..................................................................................................................... 93 3 Routes and Roots of Empowerment in No Pictures In my Grave: A Spiritual Journey In Sicily by Susan Caperna Lloyd ............................................................................... 93 1. Writing travel and memories ........................................................................... 97 2. From Return to the Mother to No Pictures In my Grave: a title inversion ....... 102 3. A quest for identity through a quest for Carolina: the journey begins .............. 108 4. A physical and mythical journey of self-discovery ........................................... 112 5. Recovering memory through old myths and rituals .......................................... 121 6. Processional movements and patterns of inversion ........................................... 125 7. Procession and memory: the politics of circular narratives .............................. 129 8. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 134 Chapter 3 ................................................................................................................... 139 Crossing the Threshold of the Skin through Persephone: Cultural Conflict in The Skin between Us by Kym Ragusa ..................................................................................... 139 1. The Skin between Us and the unstable border of skin ........................................... 143 2. Contesting: ‘The mythology Of East Harlem’ and practices of upward mobility ............................................................................................................................... 147 3. Disordering: the strategy of passing and the ideology of race .......................... 150 4. Connecting: building a transcultural bridge between Africa, America, and Europe ................................................................................................................... 159 5. Re-telling: re-inventing Persephone in Hades’ kingdom .................................. 167 6. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 180 4 Chapter 4 ................................................................................................................... 184 The Ongoing Mythical Present in The Anarchist Bastard by Joanna Clapps Herman ................................................................................................................................... 184 1. The Anarchist Bastard: Growing Up Italian in America .................................. 186 2. Waterbury: an Italian American upbringing ..................................................... 190 3. Nostos: forms of homecoming .......................................................................... 195 4. Xenia: rules of hospitality ................................................................................. 201 5. Nekyia: the world of the dead and the ‘knowledge from beyond’ ..................... 206 6. Ascending and descending: Persephone’s abduction ........................................ 210 7. Persephone Περίφρωυ: the voice of wisdom .................................................... 216 8. An Italian American upbringing through the language of Dante and Persephone ............................................................................................................................... 221 10. Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 228 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 232 The Final Departure .............................................................................................. 241 Classica Italian Americana .................................................................................... 244 Appendix ................................................................................................................... 247 Interview with Susan Caperna Lloyd .................................................................... 247 Interview with Kym Ragusa ..................................................................................... 270 Interview with Joanna Clapps Herman ................................................................. 277 Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 308 5 Primary Sources .................................................................................................... 308 Secondary Sources ................................................................................................ 309 Online Resources ................................................................................................... 338 6 Acknowledgments It is an immense pleasure for me to acknowledge the Institutions and the people that have made possible the completion of this dissertation. Firstly, thanks to Sydney University. The writing of this thesis was supported by The University of Sydney International Scholarship. I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Giorgia Alù, for her guidance throughout these four years. Thank you for believing in this project since day one. Words cannot express enough how much I appreciate her knowledge, support, advice, sense of humour, and her unique way of making me feel at ease. Thank you for taking us to the end of this journey. Thank you to my associate supervisors, Associate Professor Natalya Lusty and Professor Edvige Giunta; I could not have asked for anyone better. Thank you for reading horrible drafts of my work without judging me, but rather encouraging me to improve. To Professor Giunta, thank you also