Financiamiento a través del Mercado de Valores vs Mercado Financiero

As previously stated, childhood in Italian literature has not yet been fully explored. On the contrary, one of the authors, who has been considered from this point of view, is Elsa Morante. The presence of critical material regarding Morante‘s children and animals has provided a foundation on which to develop my argument where equivalent resources were lacking for Masino and Ortese.88 In the article, ‗―Soltanto

85

See note 15. In Alonso e i visionari, Ortese quotes Emerson three times making explicit her

knowledge and familiarity with the American author. See Ortese, Alonso e i visionari, p. 20, p. 136

and p. 182.

86 _{Ortese, In sonno e in veglia, pp. 153-162.}

87 _{Ortese, In sonno e in veglia, pp. 163-181.}

88

An interesting article dealing with games is Anna Maria Cucchi‘s ‗Il gioco e la storia‘, where the

theme is looked at in relation to La Storia and L‟isola di Arturo. Anna Maria Cucchi, ‗Il Gioco e La

Storia‘, in Terzo Quaderno: letture di Elsa Morante, ed. by Gruppo la Luna (Turin: Rosemberg &

33 l‘animale è veramente innocente‖ Gli animali ne La Storia‘,89 Concetta D‘Angeli looks at the different typologies of animals in La Storia: animals who are independent and key characters, animals who are portrayed side by side with humans, and finally animal metaphors which create a fusion between human and animal characters in a sort of metamorphosis (Useppe and the Jews).90 I found this article interesting especially in the comparison it makes between Ortese‘s and Morante‘s representation of animals. Another valuable article, in this case, to compare Morante with Masino, is Mario Barenghi ‗Tutti i nomi di Useppe. Saggio sui personaggi della ―Storia‖ di Elsa Morante‘.91

Here the critic states that the ideal communion between animals and children finds its roots in the opposition to adulthood, a contrast which will also be found in Masino‘s Periferia.92

Conclusion: the contribution my thesis wishes to make

The marked presence of extraordinary children and animals in Masino‘s and Ortese‘s narratives is no coincidence. These characters are, in fact, a tool consciously employed by the authors to address topics and perspectives in a much deeper, sharper way. The purpose of my thesis is precisely to analyse, on the one hand, the themes and views that Masino and Ortese wish to express and, on the other, the hidden truths

89

Concetta D‘Angeli, ‗―Soltanto l‘animale è veramente innocente‖ Gli animali ne La Storia‘, in Terzo

Quaderno: letture di Elsa Morante, ed. by Gruppo la Luna (Turin: Rosemberg & Sellier, 1987), pp. 66-72.

90 _{Both of the works by Cucchi and D‘Angeli are extensively referred to in Graziella Bernabò‘s Come}

leggere “La Storia” di Elsa Morante, Graziella Bernabò, Come leggere “La Storia” di Elsa Morante

(Milan: Mursia, 1991), a critical guide to the reading of La Storia, in which she stresses that animals

are chosen by Elsa Morante as they lack reason and, therefore, are not caught up by a morality that spoils the spontaneity of human relations. Animals are innocent and thus able to perceive the truth and the sacred in reality.

91 _{Mario Barenghi, ‗Tutti i nomi di Useppe: saggio sui personaggi della ―Storia‖ di Elsa Morante‘,}

Studi novecenteschi: rivista semestrale di storia della letteratura italiana contemporanea, 28 (2001), 363-389.

92

Also fascinating is the essay: Marco Santoro, ‗Il ―mondo‖ dei giovani morantiani‘ Esperienze

letterarie, 1 (2005), 77-98, in which the writer says that Morante makes youngsters bear her message of denunciation of the corruption and degradation of mankind and society.

34 they wish to unveil through the representation of such creatures. My reading will be a literary and historical one, having deliberately chosen not to follow a psychoanalytical approach, and it will not be based on the concept of genre.

I believe that my analysis can contribute to scholarly research in the field of Italian studies from different angles. Firstly, it responds to a gap in scholarly study on childhood in Italy, a theme which has not been fully explored despite its potential. As I have shown, the few scholars who have worked in this area called for more research into childhood in Italian twentieth and twenty-first century literature. Secondly, this analysis addresses the need for new areas of research into Masino‘s complex work. The recent efforts (perhaps not surprisingly by female scholars) to bring Paola Masino back into the foreground have certainly raised awareness of the author‘s valuable contribution. However, I believe there is still a lot to be discovered about this unconventional woman writer, whose complexity is yet to be fully understood. Thirdly, my thesis wishes to provide a more systematic and coherent analysis of child and animal characters in Ortese‘s works by looking at all their roles, many of which have not yet been fully examined by critics. Through the journey across themes and characters my thesis also intends to unveil the web of references to, echoes and reinterpretation of other literary and artistic works as well as of characters of the folkloric tradition. I believe, in fact, this intertextual, dialogical dimension has been looked at only sporadically and needs to be carried out in a more cohesive manner. Finally, I also hope my work can shed light on the similarities and differences between due diverse figlie di un secolo, two authors with opposite personalities, yet both experiencing an interior conflict with their reality.

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Chapter 2