Aleramo's Una donna via Ibsen's A Doll's House. (November 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: De Francisci, Enza
• Is Part Of: Forum Italicum. Volume 55:Number 3(2021)
• Page Start: 741
• Page End: 757
• Publication Date: 2021-11
• Subjects: Ibsen -- A Doll's House -- Aleramo -- Una donna -- Capuana -- Duse -- Translation and Performance; Italian language -- Periodicals; Italian literature -- History and criticism -- Periodicals; Italian literature -- 20th century -- Periodicals; Italy -- Civilization -- Periodicals; 850.5
• DOI: 10.1177/00145858211046538
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0014-5858

Abstract

This article provides a detailed comparison of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House (1879) and Sibilla Aleramo's novel Una donna (1906), focussing specifically on the similar endings of both works where the respective protagonist walks out on her family. It begins by examining the various contexts and collaborative networks that enabled the theatre of Ibsen to travel into late nineteenth-century Italy, namely Luigi Capuana's translation of the play, Casa di bambola, and early interpretations of the lead role by Italy's star actress, Eleonora Duse. The article proceeds to offer a close reading of Casa di bambola and Una donna, elucidating how Aleramo's first-person novel is able to expand on key issues which are only dealt with briefly in Ibsen's play. In so doing, the analysis illustrates what it was about Aleramo's narrative technique which both aligns her with, but also sets her apart from, her predecessor, shedding new light on the connective associations between the two authors.