In comparing Manzoni and Verga, we usually contrast the alleged paternalism of Manzoni’s narrator, who lectures his characters, and the veristic eclipse of the author, who delegates the narrative to the bare voice of the protagonists, leaving all judgement to the reader. But already in the final chapters of the «Promessi Sposi», the hierarchy between narrator and characters was overturned and the possibility of giving the floor to even marginal characters was becoming a tool to portray their particular affective and existential universe with immediacy. It is no coincidence that Verga always emphasised the elements of continuity rather than rupture with Manzoni, becoming an acute and original reader of the «Promessi Sposi».
Manzoni, Verga e la sfida dei «Promessi sposi»
Giorgio Forni
2022-01-01
Abstract
In comparing Manzoni and Verga, we usually contrast the alleged paternalism of Manzoni’s narrator, who lectures his characters, and the veristic eclipse of the author, who delegates the narrative to the bare voice of the protagonists, leaving all judgement to the reader. But already in the final chapters of the «Promessi Sposi», the hierarchy between narrator and characters was overturned and the possibility of giving the floor to even marginal characters was becoming a tool to portray their particular affective and existential universe with immediacy. It is no coincidence that Verga always emphasised the elements of continuity rather than rupture with Manzoni, becoming an acute and original reader of the «Promessi Sposi».Pubblicazioni consigliate
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