Corporeal Bonds: The Daughter-Mother Relationship in Twentieth-century Italian Women's Writing

Patrizia Sambuco

Research output: Book/ReportBook

Abstract

The mother-daughter relationship is a popular theme in contemporary Italian writing but has never before been analysed in a comprehensive book-length study. In Corporeal Bonds, Patrizia Sambuco analyses novels by authors such as Elsa Morante, Francesca Sanvitale, Mariateresa Di Lascia, and Elena Ferrante, each of which is narrated from the daughter’s point of view and depicts the daughter’s bond with the mother.

Highlighting the recurrent images throughout these works, Sambuco traces these back to alternative forms of communication between mother and daughter, as well as to the female body. Sambuco also explores the attempts of the daughter-narrators to define a female self that is outside the constrictions of patriarchal society. Through these investigations, Corporeal Bonds identifies a strong connection between the ideas of post-Lacanian critical theorists, Italian feminist thinkers, and the stories within the novels.
Original languageEnglish
PublisherUniversity of Toronto Press
Number of pages256
ISBN (Electronic)9781442699502
ISBN (Print)9781442644250
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2012

Publication series

NameToronto Italian Studies

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