Amalia, the hysteric sister (I. Svevo, <i>Senilità</i>, 1898)

The essay is dedicated to Amalia Brentani, the sister of the protagonist of Senilità (1898), by Italo Svevo. She is, in fact, a crucial figure: because of the narrative and symbolic symmetries between the two siblings; because of the continuous expression of a desire sometimes missed, sometimes deni...

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Main Author: Daniela Brogi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: UNICApress 2013-06-01
Series:Between
Subjects:
Online Access:http://ojs.unica.it/index.php/between/article/view/970
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author Daniela Brogi
author_facet Daniela Brogi
author_sort Daniela Brogi
collection DOAJ
description The essay is dedicated to Amalia Brentani, the sister of the protagonist of Senilità (1898), by Italo Svevo. She is, in fact, a crucial figure: because of the narrative and symbolic symmetries between the two siblings; because of the continuous expression of a desire sometimes missed, sometimes denied desire, sometimes affirmed in the form of physical and psychic discomfort. Hysteria is the main device used to develop her identity, but it is not just a theme: it becomes a real character in the plot. It hides the narrative truths unveiled by the rhetoric of the text. Amalia is not a person in flesh and bones, nor she is a real clinical case: she is a literary character born from the imagination of an author who belongs to his time, or even resambles it. In particular, it is the time when experimental psychology begins to tackle the complexity of the human soul (and therefore also of desire), first and foremost interrogating the psychophysical oddities of female nature.
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spelling doaj.art-7defa577392b4469a746ceb4d26d9f372023-09-02T21:19:07ZengUNICApressBetween2039-65972013-06-013510.13125/2039-6597/970646Amalia, the hysteric sister (I. Svevo, <i>Senilità</i>, 1898)Daniela BrogiThe essay is dedicated to Amalia Brentani, the sister of the protagonist of Senilità (1898), by Italo Svevo. She is, in fact, a crucial figure: because of the narrative and symbolic symmetries between the two siblings; because of the continuous expression of a desire sometimes missed, sometimes denied desire, sometimes affirmed in the form of physical and psychic discomfort. Hysteria is the main device used to develop her identity, but it is not just a theme: it becomes a real character in the plot. It hides the narrative truths unveiled by the rhetoric of the text. Amalia is not a person in flesh and bones, nor she is a real clinical case: she is a literary character born from the imagination of an author who belongs to his time, or even resambles it. In particular, it is the time when experimental psychology begins to tackle the complexity of the human soul (and therefore also of desire), first and foremost interrogating the psychophysical oddities of female nature.http://ojs.unica.it/index.php/between/article/view/970Svevo«Senilità»IsteriaRomanzoIdentità narrativa
spellingShingle Daniela Brogi
Amalia, the hysteric sister (I. Svevo, <i>Senilità</i>, 1898)
Between
Svevo
«Senilità»
Isteria
Romanzo
Identità narrativa
title Amalia, the hysteric sister (I. Svevo, <i>Senilità</i>, 1898)
title_full Amalia, the hysteric sister (I. Svevo, <i>Senilità</i>, 1898)
title_fullStr Amalia, the hysteric sister (I. Svevo, <i>Senilità</i>, 1898)
title_full_unstemmed Amalia, the hysteric sister (I. Svevo, <i>Senilità</i>, 1898)
title_short Amalia, the hysteric sister (I. Svevo, <i>Senilità</i>, 1898)
title_sort amalia the hysteric sister i svevo i senilita i 1898
topic Svevo
«Senilità»
Isteria
Romanzo
Identità narrativa
url http://ojs.unica.it/index.php/between/article/view/970
work_keys_str_mv AT danielabrogi amaliathehystericsisterisvevoisenilitai1898