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- Herausgeber: Lebooks Editora
- Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
- Sprache: Englisch
Cavalleria Rusticana and Other Stories, by Giovanni Verga, is a seminal work of Italian verismo literature that captures the raw realities of rural Sicilian life. Through a series of interconnected short stories, Verga portrays the struggles, passions, and harsh social codes of peasants and working-class individuals bound by honor, tradition, and poverty. The titular story, Cavalleria Rusticana, centers on a tragic love triangle marked by betrayal and vengeance, reflecting the deep emotional intensity and rigid moral expectations of its setting. Verga's stark, unembellished prose and objective narrative style strip away romanticism to present characters driven by instinct, pride, and survival. His stories emphasize the inevitability of fate and the weight of societal norms, highlighting how individuals are often powerless against the circumstances that define their lives. This approach marked a significant departure from idealized literature of the time and helped establish verismo as a powerful literary movement. The lasting impact of Cavalleria Rusticana and Other Tales lies in its vivid depiction of human emotion within a specific cultural and social context. Verga's ability to universalize themes such as love, jealousy, and loss through the lens of Sicilian village life continues to resonate, offering readers a poignant reflection on the intersection of personal desire and communal expectation.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025
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Giovanni Verga
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA AND OTHER STORIES
Original Title:
“Novelle rusticane”
Contents
INTRODUCTION
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA AND OTHER TALES OF SICILIAN PEASANT LIFE
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA.
RED-HEADED MALPÉLO
GRAMIGNA’S MISTRESS.
THE “MYSTERY.”
NEDDA.
WAR BETWEEN SAINTS.
INTRODUCTION
Giovanni Verga
1840 – 1922
Giovanni Verga was an Italian writer and one of the leading figures of the Verismo (Realism) literary movement in Italy. Born in Catania, Sicily, Verga is renowned for his works that portray the harsh realities of life in southern Italy, focusing on the struggles of ordinary people such as peasants, fishermen, and laborers. His unflinching depiction of poverty, social constraints, and fatalism placed him at the forefront of modern Italian narrative, earning him a prominent place in European literature.
Early Life and Education
Giovanni Verga was born into a wealthy and aristocratic Sicilian family. Despite his privileged background, he developed an early interest in the lives of the poor and marginalized. He initially studied law at the University of Catania but abandoned his studies to pursue literature. Verga moved to Florence and later Milan, where he became associated with intellectual and literary circles that influenced his transition from romanticism to realism.
Career and Contributions
Verga’s literary career began with historical and romantic novels, but he gained critical acclaim when he shifted to realist fiction. His narrative style is marked by objectivity, a documentary tone, and a commitment to presenting life as it is, without embellishment or moral judgment. His most celebrated works include I Malavoglia (1881) and Mastro-don Gesualdo (1889), which form part of a projected but unfinished series called The Cycle of the Defeated.
In I Malavoglia, Verga tells the story of a family of Sicilian fishermen who suffer successive misfortunes while trying to maintain their dignity and traditional values. The novel reflects themes of social determinism, the weight of heritage, and the inescapability of fate. Mastro-don Gesualdo follows a self-made man whose rise in wealth cannot shield him from isolation and societal rejection, underscoring the emptiness of social mobility in a rigid class structure.
Impact and Legacy
Verga's commitment to a naturalistic representation of life marked a radical departure from the idealism that had characterized much of Italian literature before him. His technique of indirect narration and use of dialect, while sometimes challenging for readers, added authenticity and depth to his stories. Verga became a leading voice in the Verismo movement, paralleling the works of Émile Zola in France and drawing comparisons to other European realists.
His writing influenced generations of authors and became essential in the study of regional identity and social critique in literature. Verga’s depiction of human suffering, resignation, and the illusion of progress resonates with the universal human condition, earning him a legacy as a master of realist prose.
Giovanni Verga returned to Catania later in life and withdrew from public literary life. He died in 1922 at the age of 82. Though he faded somewhat from the spotlight in his later years, Verga's literary contributions endured. His works are now seen as foundational in Italian literature and are frequently studied for their stylistic innovation and sociopolitical insight.
Verga’s exploration of determinism, poverty, and the human cost of ambition continue to influence writers and scholars. His commitment to portraying the often grim truths of life has ensured that his voice remains vital in discussions of literature, realism, and southern Italian identity.
About the work
Cavalleria Rusticana and Other Stories, by Giovanni Verga, is a seminal work of Italian verismo literature that captures the raw realities of rural Sicilian life. Through a series of interconnected short stories, Verga portrays the struggles, passions, and harsh social codes of peasants and working-class individuals bound by honor, tradition, and poverty. The titular story, Cavalleria Rusticana, centers on a tragic love triangle marked by betrayal and vengeance, reflecting the deep emotional intensity and rigid moral expectations of its setting.
Verga’s stark, unembellished prose and objective narrative style strip away romanticism to present characters driven by instinct, pride, and survival. His stories emphasize the inevitability of fate and the weight of societal norms, highlighting how individuals are often powerless against the circumstances that define their lives. This approach marked a significant departure from idealized literature of the time and helped establish verismo as a powerful literary movement.
The lasting impact of Cavalleria Rusticana and Other Tales lies in its vivid depiction of human emotion within a specific cultural and social context. Verga’s ability to universalize themes such as love, jealousy, and loss through the lens of Sicilian village life continues to resonate, offering readers a poignant reflection on the intersection of personal desire and communal expectation.
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA AND OTHER STORES OF SICILIAN PEASANT LIFE
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA.
Turiddu macca, the son of Mistress Nunzia, when he came back from serving his time as a soldier, used to show himself off every Sunday in the Piazza, in his ber-sagliere’suniform and his red cap, so that he looked like the fortune-teller when he sets up his stall with the cageful of canary birds. The girls devoured him with their eyes as they went to mass, their noses hidden in the folds of their mantelline1; and all the urchins in the place buzzed about him like flies. He had brought back a pipe, too, with the king upon it, on horseback, as lifelike as possible ; and he lit the matches on the seat of his trousers, raising his leg as if he were giving a kick.
But in spite of all this, Farmer Angelo’s Lola had not shown herself anywhere, either at mass or on the dancing-floor, for she was engaged to be married to a man from Licodia, a waggoner by trade, who had four mules of the Sortino breed in his stable.
When first Turiddu heard of it, there was the devil to pay ! “ He was going to tear out the man from Licodia’s vitals for for him, he was ! ” But he did nothing of the kind, and only vented his spleen by going to sing all the insulting songs he could think of under the lady’s windows.
“ Has Mistress Nunzia’s Turiddu nothing to do,” asked the neighbours, “ that he spends his nights singing, like a lonely sparrow ? ”
At last he fell in with Lola, coming back from a pilgrimage to “ Our Lady of Peril ”; and when she saw him, she turned neither white nor red, just as though it had been none of her business.
“ Blessed are the eyes that see you! ” said he.
“ Oh, Master Turiddu, they were telling me that you had come back at the beginning of the month.”
“They tell me very different things! ” he replied. “ Is it true that you are to marry Master Alfio, the waggoner ? ”
“ If it be the will of God! ” answered Lola, pulling the two corners of her kerchief over her chin.
“ You do the will of God by playing fast and loose, just as it suits you best! And it was the will of God, then, that I was to come back from so far, only to hear this fine news, Mistress Lola!”
The poor fellow still tried to brave it out, but his voice had grown husky, and he walked behind the girl, rocking himself to and fro, while the point of his cap flapped about on his shoulders. It grieved her, in all conscience, to see him with that long face, yet she couldn’t find it in her heart to delude him with fine words.
“Listen, Master Turiddu,” she said at last; “let me catch up my companions. What would they say in the village if they saw me with you ? ”
