Towards the Abolition of Gender Identity in Il corpo odiato by Nicola Lecca Gabriele, the main character of the novel by Nicola Lecca, discovers within himself a homosexual inclination which doesn’t conform to a traditional masculinity. Thus, it causes identity crisis. The protagonist carries out an obsessive auto analysis. He tries to represent self-discipline. This should lead him to regain confidence and social assimilation. The Article shows three stages, which Gabriele goes through: the ideal type of masculinity, the protest period and the discovery of his real identity. All three describe a subordination, an attempt to get the autonomy back and the awareness of freedom. This process was analysed in a range of few components: the main character’s space, his social relations, his homosexual experience, judging his own body, the emotional conflict between trying to be perfect, low self-esteem and the act of writing. Nicola Lecca’s text may be read as a voice in discussion about stereotypical masculine pattern which in this case is questioned. Key words: gender identity, stereotypical masculine pattern, homosexuality, Italian modern literature.
Martine Segalen, French ethnologist, pondering over rituals in lives of individuals and societies which are technology oriented, points not to the de‑ritualization but to change of the plane on which rituals occur (a shift from center to margin). Repeated everyday actions always become rituals when they carry symbolic meanings. According to Stewart Lee Allen, drinking coffee together is one of the most prevalent social rituals. For ages coffee was called a ‘devilish beverage’; on the other hand, it was used in religious rituals as a means of contact with God. For Qamar, the protagonist of Widad Tamimi’s novel Il caffè delle donne, drinking coffee becomes a ritual which was analyzed on the three levels: collective, individual and intimate relationship. The main point of the novel is coffee taseography, a mantic technique; it can be traced to the beginnings of Arabic traditions. For Qamar, of Arab origin, coffee not only becomes a ritual of initiation, but also is a stimulus for her new identity to emerge. An everyday cup of coffee shows a process of changes she undergoes, and helps her in solving her identity crisis. It appears that one of the keys to reading Widad Tamimi’s novel is a meaning of rituals for immigrants who must find themselves in the new social environment and determine their new identity. Key words: daily rituals, Italian migration literature, coffee tasseography, meaning of a ritual in the migration context, identity crisis
The book Occhio per occhio by Sandro Veronesi is an important voice in the ongoing discussion on death penalty. First published in 1992 in the form of an essay, it was republished in 2004 as a prose narrative. Veronesi combines journalistic style with narrative fiction and thus reaches a the wide range of readers. The key word to the analysed text is “transgression.” Veronesi shows four countries which represent four sides of the world as well as very different political and cultural systems. He shows similar mechanisms of violation of certain norms and laws in these countries. The title of his work, which refers to the Biblical law of retaliation, clearly determines the position of the author who sees death penalty as a tool of revenge. Veronesi does not speak to the reader from the position of a detached theoretician, but as a man who personally experienced the tragedy of people affected by death penalty. For the reason that the author assumes a definitive position in the discussion and refers to a general concept of human nature, his novel arouses emotions and evokes controversies. Key words: Death penalty, human rights, transgression, the right to retaliate, contemporary Italian Prose.
The main goal of the present analysis is to show the formation of four characters’ identity in the colonial times. The analyzed novel is set in an Italian colony called Eritrea. There are four main characters: Carlo from Italy, Sellas from Eritrea, and their children Marianna and Gianfranco. They are all interpreted with reference to the three concepts related to the notion of belonging, namely, “I,” “we,” and “others.” The changes which take place in their personal and social identities are examined, as the characters form bonds with one another and with the society. They are examined as representing the following identity models: “individual identity,” “social identity,” “balanced identity” and “lack of identity.” These forms of identity, however, are never definitive because the shaping of identity is always a dynamic process, and thus every social or cultural context may require that identities be reformulated. The novel may be interpreted not only as the memoirs of the colonial times, but also as a tribute paid to the colonists, the colonised, and specifically to the Métis people who had to take up the challenge of redefining themselves. The author also encourages the reader to reflect on today’s nomadic, multiethnic, postmodern societies. Key words: Italian postcolonialism, identity dilemmas, Italian literature of migration, Erminia Dell’Oro.