A collection of essays providing feminist interpretations of Italian women's literary and cinematic production over the centuries.

"This collection is a good and discriminating introduction to the bibliography on women writers. It is well researched and argued with intelligence. It will be undoubtedly useful in undergraduate and graduate courses to give students a wider view of Italian literature and culture."—Stefania Buccini, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Contents

Introduction

Revising the Canon: Italian Women Writers Maria O. Marotti

Part I: Canon Formation/Canon Revision

Women Writers and the Canon in Contemporary Italy JoAnn Cannon

From One Closet to Another? Feminism, Literary Archaeology, and the Canon Beverly Allen

Italian "Difference Theory": A New Canon? Renate Holub

Part II: Renaissance Women: Rethinking the Canon

Renaissance Women Defending Women: Arguments Against Patriarchy Constance Jordan

Selling the Self, or the Epistolary Production of Renaissance Courtesans Fiora A. Bassanese

Part III: At the Turn of the Century: Women Writers at the Margins of the Canon

Double Marginality: Matilde Serao and the Politics of Ambiguity Nancy Harrowitz

The Diaries of Sibilla Aleramo: Constructing Female Subjectivity Bernadette Luciano

Narrative Voice and the Regional Experience: Redefining Female Images in the Works of Maria Messina Elise Magistro

Part IV: Contemporary Women Writers: Toward a New Canon

Brushing Benjamin Against the Grain: Elsa Morante and the "Jetzeit" of Marginal History Maurizia Boscagli

From Genealogy to Gynealogy and Beyond: Fausta Cialente's Le Quattro Ragazze Wieselberger Graziella Parati

Ethnic Matriarchy: Fabrizia Ramondino's Neapolitan World Maria Ornella Marotti

Mythic Revisionism: Women Poets and Philosophers in Italy Today Lucia Re

Part V: Women as Filmmakers: Images of Women/Images by Women/Images for Women

Monica Vitti: The Image and the Word Marga Cottino-Jones

Signifying the Holocaust: Liliana Cavani's Portiere di notte Marguerite Waller