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Theory and Practice
"L'amante
in
di
Gramigna"
Massimo Verdicchio
The importance of the "abbozzo
mante
di
di racconto," as
would not seem
to
be
in question.^
tance of his tale by accompanying
plains the objectives of the
new
which has since been published
literature as a
Verga himself
it
art
with a
stresses the theoretical impor-
which he ex-
letter to the editor in
form, "nuova arte" (Verga 233). The
letter,
as the theoretical preface to the story, spells out
document of
drama of human passions.
the
Caro Farina, eccoti non un racconto,
il
calls the short story "L'a-
paragraph Verga's idea of verismo and his claims to a conception of
in the first
avrà
Verga
Gramigna," for an understanding of his poetics and brand of verismo
ma
l'abbozzo di un racconto. Esso almeno
— un documento umano,
merito di esser brevissimo, e di essere storico
come dicono oggi
—
interessante forse per
te,
e per
tutti
coloro che studiano nel
gran libro del cuore. (Verga 230-31)
It
comes
as
somewhat
a surprise, therefore, to note that
most
critics in
discussing
questions of verismo and Verga's poetics always disregard the story and look
elsewhere for works more representative of Verga's method. Giacomo Debenedetti, for instance, after
discussing the letter to Farina turns to the story "Rosso
Malpelo," also from Vita dei campi,
its literary
practice (413
ff.).
to contrast
Verga's theory of verismo with
When "L'amante di Gramigna"
is
read as the literary
exemplification of a theory of verismo, as in a recent study by Giorgio Bàrberi
Squarotti, the result is a naturalistic, literal reading that does not
go much beyond
paraphrase. Bàrberi Squarotti believes that Verga's verismo amounts to a shift
from
a literary or metaphorical
one: "lo scrittore
come
letteratura
bisogno che
il
la positiva
lettore
debba
much
and
literal
.
.
.
il
fatto,
senza
cercarlo nell'inevitabile metaforicità della scrit-
The summary
is in
order because one
is
dealing not
with literature, which would require interpretation, as with real
documents
The
to a naturalistic
esemplificazione di un discorso che è
tura letteraria" (Squarotti 15).
so
mode of representation
scompare dalla scena, dichiara l'abbandono della
defila,
si
that only
life
need summing up.
theoretical relevance of the letter has been similarly reduced. Verga's
remarks,
when
they are taken seriously, are generally
only in part to the short stories but not to the
major objection
to the letter
later
deemed
to
be applicable
and more mature
comes, once again, from Debenedetti
QUADERNI d'italiamstica Volume XIV, No.
2,
1993
novels.'^
who
The
speaks of
Massimo Verdicchio
262
serious shortcomings in Verga's theoretical pronouncements, "(di) quel suo
modo
corto e un po' confuso, tutto insieme semplicistico e inceppato, di parlare
per idee generali" (383). For Debenedetti, there
vague theoretical generalization stated
is
in the letter
great discrepancy between the
and the short
"Ma
story.
questi
enunciati sono più tardivi, rimangono abbastanza generici, non collimano rigo-
rosamente con
con l'operare del Verga
la pratica,
of verismo, not
its
theorist (the
no reflex knowledge of his
honour goes
perché nel Verga, personalmente,
mai a
meno
Quando
in
is
the artist
falls easily
prey to generalizations:
consapevolezza della propria arte non riesce
la
il
Verga vuol parlare
una involontaria ambiguità
non sa
.
.
.
in generale,
con
modo
casca nel generico o per lo
le effettive
opere d'arte.
//
Verga sa
dire quello che fa" (17, italics mine).
Between the theory and the
cause the
artist
not only
is
literary practice there is a qualitative difference be-
not a theorist but not even his best
incapable of describing what he otherwise excels
Verga and
his verismo
break away from traditional
critic,
in
more
is
quite
recent criticism. In
narrative in Italian fiction,
critical practice,
and
at.
have not fared much better
work on self-conscious
his important
less
Verga
dichiararsi del tutto, e in ogni caso è aliena dal pronunciarsi in
esplicito.
fare,
and
artistry
artista" (384).
Capuana) mainly because he has
to
which claims
to
Gregory Lucente chooses nonethe-
"Rosso Malpelo" as exemplary of Verga's narrative
style
and brand of
veri-
smo, "because the novella was of distinctive import both for Vita dei campi and
for the overall
development of Verga's
realist
oeuvre" (69). The reasons for Lu-
cente's choice do not stem entirely from theoretical considerations based on the
novella but are dictated by tradition since, as he writes in a note, critics from Russo to Luperini have always looked to "Rosso Malpelo" as the story that most
exemplifies Verga's brand of verismo:
Since Luigi Russo
dei
campi
.
.
.
first
many
described the story as
"il
racconto più organico" ... of Vita
other writers have characterized the novella as Verga's
most
The importance of the story is
further indicated by Romano Luperini's dedication of an entire monograph to it.
Verga e le strutture narrative del realismo: Saggio su Rosso Malpelo ....
unified,
most important, or simply
as his best.
(Lucente 348)
Luperini, in fact, considers this novella exemplary of the "stylistic and linguistic
revolution" that marks a radical departure from Verga's early works, and even
"Nedda," toward a poetics of verismo.
La
rottura tra
sione, che è
Nedda e Rosso Malpelo non sta nella tematica esistenziale
comune ai due racconti, ma nella rivoluzione stilistica e
dell'esclu-
linguistica
che divide quella da questo e che presuppone un cambiamento radicale nella
visione del
mondo verghiana ....
Il
fatto è che tra
Nedda
e Rosso Malpelo c'è
stata la scelta dell' impersonalità, l'adesione al verismo. (Luperini 43,
my
italics)
Theory and Practice
According
to Luperini,
"L'amante
in
Verga's radical
Gramigna"
di
shift in poetics
263
("rovesciamento di poeti-
ca" 44), admirably exemplified in "Rosso Malpelo," consists in a
ality
whereby the author no longer intervenes
"Nedda," but leaves
it
new imperson-
to
defend his characters, as in
to the narrating voice: "le
motivazioni del carattere del
protagonista sono date dalla voce narrante e lo scrittore
venire a ristabilire
la 'sua' verità" (45).
Verga's judgement
is
si
The same occurs
similarly expressed
by
guarda bene dall'interin /
Malavoglia where
a chorus of characters: "nei
Malavo-
glia la stessa scena sarebbe stata rappresentata proprio dal punto di vista delle
'comari'" (45). In
my
analysis
shall
I
argue just the opposite since the chorus of
characters stands for the mystification that Verga
These
able and suspect.
acceptable because, after
It is
Vita dei Campi, "Rosso Malpelo"
Verga's narrative method.
is
denouncing.
is
choice of novella to exemplify Verga's verismo
critics'
is
is
both accept-
as one of the novellas from
all,
just as valid as any novella to demonstrate
suspect since the privileging of "Rosso Malpelo"
It is
made, as Lucente emphasizes, on traditional grounds that the story
plete
and
comes
The
unified narrative.
the recipient not so
is
a
com-
risk inherent in this choice is that the novella be-
much of Verga's verismo
as of our traditional
ways of
reading Verga. Our reading of the novella, as Luperini' s comments demonstrate,
tend to focus on the substance and meaning of the novella rather than on
its
process and dynamics, as Verga intimates. They focus on the "what" rather than
the
"how." The advantage
in
examining "L'amante
standing of Verga's poetics does not
for its author his
new
sketch of a story.
Its
narrative
lie just in
method but because
brief and bare outline
di
Gramigna"
for an under-
the fact that the story exemplifies
makes
it
it
is a
"bozzetto di storia," the
possible to determine quickly
and accurately the modalities of Verga's new impersonal narrative which can be
is the objective of my paper which will
read in other stories and novels. This
examine
Verga's
first
letter to
Farina and then the story in order to reassess their
relevance for an understanding of Verga's poetics of verismo.
The Theory
In the letter to Farina,
Verga writes
that the prose sketch is not only brief but
What Verga means is clarified by the phrase "un documento umano" by which he does not mean a factual account or an historical document. While the human document has its referent necessarily in historical fact,
historical ("storico").
the source
re").
Verga alludes
to is the great
Verga's appeal to Farina
is
book of
the heart ("nel gran libro del cuo-
not simply to an editor
interesting ("interessante forse per te"), but
is
made
who may
find his views
to a fellow writer
who
can
understand what he means.
Verga has
every writer
man and
in
mind an experience which is first of all literary and common to
has read in "the great book of the heart" and knows the heart of
who
his passions.
Another name for
this
book
is "literature"
and, in this case,
Massimo Verdicchio
264
Italian literature,
which since Dante's Vita Nuova,
with the predicament of
II
human
not
if
earlier,
has always dealt
passions.
misterioso processo per cui le passioni
annodano,
si
intrecciano, maturano,
si
si
svolgono nel loro cammino sotterraneo, nei loro andirivieni che spesso sembrano
contraddittori. (232)
from time immemorial, has always
Literature,
human
the mysterious process of
strived to understand
how
passions,
velop. In connection with the subject of Love, which
"L'amante
di
to
clearly, is endless
sors.
The
how he
difference
literary
how he chooses
is in
come
medesime parole semplici
list,
works. Verga, in other words,
from
that
of his
literary predeces-
to deal with this eternal subject
represents the mysterious workings of
Io te lo ripeterò così
He
de-
the central passion of
mention only a few examples from one period. The
and would include most
to say that his objective is not different
wants
is
Gramigna," we could mention the love poetry of Guinizelli, Caval-
and Dante,
canti
and portray
bom, nurtured and
they are
human
and
passion.
l'ho raccolto pei viottoli dei campi, press 'a
poco colle
e pittoresche della narrazione popolare. (232)
intends to portray this process not from the omniscient point of view of an
author but from the limited perspective of a bystander who, having heard the
story at secondhand, recounts
language of country
folk.
it
in his
own
Verga wants
words,
in the
simple and picturesque
to give the reader a
sense of immediacy,
of being a participant in the action of the story, rather than being mediated by the
("faccia a faccia col fatto nu-
words of explanation and commentary of the author
do e
schietto, senza stare a cercarlo fra le linee del libro, attraverso la lente dello
scrittore" [232]).
Verga does not mean, however,
with the events proper, as
is
that the reader as observer will
events and what they say about them. The result
does not allow events
them
to
human
The reader never
becomes secondary, only
heart and
its
many
once again,
great
is in
mediated immediacy which
quite experiences the historical
the mysterious process that
to imitate
narrated events, nonetheless, are
Verga reminds Farina
of the
a
moves
that his
works of
approach
still
under the control of the writer.
to narrative is not
literature, or
the emphasis that
and portray.
"monumenti
Verga chooses
very different from that
gloriosi."
to place
on
The
difference,
the narrative.
Noi rifacciamo il processo artistico al quale dobbiamo tanti monumenti
con metodo diverso, più minuzioso e più intimo. Sacrifichiamo volentieri
dei fatti verso la catastrofe resa
non meno
fatale.
the
passions. This process becomes the "true" event of the story
and the one Verga' s verismo aims
The
is
be confronted
others recount these
be experienced directly as they are but always presents
distorted through others.
event, which
how
so often thought, but with
(232)
meno
impreveduta,
meno drammatica
gloriosi,
l'effetto
forse,
ma
Theory and Practice
Verga
shifts his
"L'amante
in
emphasis from the effects
di
Gramigna"
to the causes to focus
ous process of the unfolding of passions and events. This
to
Like
those
all
who
is
since
tra
it is
cause ed
fulfills his role
human
take an interest in the study of the
effetti" (232).
just as predictable as
The
it is
ence of the human
is to
heart,
tragic demise,
meant
at
finale.
Verga focuses
on the "legame
By
describing this process. Verga
teach the reader a lesson in the sci-
scienza del cuore
spirit ("la
is
popular
ending does not need elaboration
tragic
inevitable.
and duty as writer which
stand
literature
on the surprising and dramatic
on the process which brings about the character's
oscuro
on the mysteri-
critical
be somewhat polemical toward the type of melodramatic
the time and in which the stress, instead,
265
umano"
[233]).
Once
again, Ver-
ga's objectives are not very different from what other writers have set themselves. Dante's
Commedia
is
one example
that
comes
when
ture,
will take
"i fatti diversi," that is chronicles
its
mind.
to
Verga has been unjustly accused of looking forward
to a future
without
litera-
of everyday facts and occurrences,
place. Croce, for example, declared: "Queste idee sono chiaramente
erronee" (Croce 19). Verga, however, meant something quite different.
Si arriverà
inutile
il
mai a
umano, che sarà
tutte
le
perfezionamento nello studio delle passioni, che diventerà
tal
proseguire in cotesto studio dell'uomo interiore? La scienza del cuore
virtù
nuova
arte,
dell'immaginazione,
che
il
frutto della
svilupperà talmente e così generalmente
nell'avvenire
soli
i
romanzi che
si
scriveranno saranno i fatti diversi! (233)
These declarations accompanied by question marks
tended.
The
full realization
with the author or with the
will learn to read
become
obsolete.
new
The
fact that
it
more
Only when readers
Verga
is
is
last section
of the
literature
seem
have sprung up naturally by
to
mano
not
we
could mention our
human
heart.
perhaps, the most problematic. Here Verga
raises the issue of the impersonality of the
work of
is
time soon. The answer to the question
"no," and as added proof
letter is,
literature
asking the question implies that he
limited understanding of Verga' s works as records of the
The
rhetorical than in-
heart does not rest solely
writers but with the reader.
may occur any
posed by Verga, therefore,
la
are
human
and understand the human heart as writers can, will
very optimistic that
own
of a science of the
work of
where the hand of the writer
itself
will
art
and looks forward
to a
be invisible and the work will
without the help of the writer.
dell'artista rimarrà assolutamente invisibile, allora
[il
romanzo] avrà l'im-
pronta dell'avvenimento reale, l'opera d'arte sembrerà essersi fatta da sé, aver maturato
ed esser sorta spontanea, come un fatto naturale, senza serbare alcun punto
suo autore, alcuna macchia del peccato d'origine. (233)
di contatto col
The passage has given
rise to all sorts
of speculation most of
Verga's claim has seemed preposterous and outright
instance, regards the claim as a strategy to shirk
false.
from
it
negative because
Bàrberi Squarotti, for
his authorial responsibili-
Massimo Verdicchio
266
ties,
as a
blame or
way of
e la strategia dello scrittore
momento
who, supposedly,
.
.
.
will not
be able
to
only representing facts:
diviene allora davvero decisiva e arbitraria, nel
si
nasconde per dare a credere
non può quindi prendersela più con
prendersela
is
appare e rifiuta di dichiararsi complice degli eventi narrati e dei
in cui
personaggi rappresentati, cioè
lettore
who
hiding from the reader (or the critic?)
criticize the author
con
contenuti
fatti
i
nella
lui,
di
che non
narrazione,
non esserci più e
il
ed è insensato
c'è,
momento che sono
dal
perfettamente "reali." (20)
The hypothesis justifies
tro
il
the subtitle of Bàrberi Squarotti's book,
verismo, fictions which the
view, however,
we
aims
critic
to
Le finzioni
die-
my
demystify and denounce. In
are not dealing with any subtle stratagem to deceive or
neutralize readers or critics. In any case, this
would be an almost impossible
with critics like Bàrberi Squarotti. Rather, Verga's claim
is
task
based on a conception
of the work of art which sees "coesione" between the "mysterious" process of the
passions represented and the creative process which represents
two processes coincide,
the
but inevitable. The
first
the claim of impersonality
is
part of the quotation, which
Since for Verga
it.
not only understandable
I
omitted
earlier,
as
is
follows:
Quando
che
il
nel
romanzo
l'affinità e la
coesione di ogni sua parte sarà così completa,
processo della creazione rimarrà un mistero, come lo svolgersi delle
passioni umane, e l'armonia delle sue forme sarà così perfetta,
sua realtà così evidente,
il
suo
modo
la sincerità della
e la sua ragione di essere così necessari ....
(233, italics mine)
The
a
effect of placing the reader "face to face" with the event is
mode
made
possible by
of representation where by the mysterious process represented coincides
with the writing process. The reader/observer can easily ignore the fact that he
reading a novella or a novel because the language of the work
same with
Gramigna"
the characters' language of passion.
will
As our
analysis of "L'amante di
show, the mystery of human passions represented by Verga
result of a process which, in origin, is independent of the characters
narrated, as well as of the writing process
Verga's objective to place readers
in
which represents
a situation
is
one and the
is
it
is
the
and events
and exemplifies
where they are
it.
listening to
someone recounting or experiencing an event, has to be taken more
than it is usually. For Verga it is not simply a literary device but an
seriously
essential
aspect of his poetics which closely concerns the representation of the mysterious
process of
human
passions. Failure to understand this point has led critics like
Bàrberi Squarotti to believe that the "original sin" meant by Verga
which the author would gladly exchange
//
"peccato d'origine"
è,
for
some type of automatic
is literature
writing.
evidentemente, la letteratura: dal romanzo moderno
dovrà essere del tutto cancellata a favore del
fatto così
com'è, e
il
"mistero" della
Theory and Practice
scrittura presso
"L'amante di Gramigna"
in
che automatica potrà così pareggiare
il
267
conto con
mistero delle
il
passioni umane. (Squarotti 14-15)
The
work of
"originai sin" consists in the fact that the
namely, a
fiction. In other
words,
be nothing more than
sin"
which condemns
not so
much
the risk of any literary
fiction.
Hence
not,
work when
it is
the notion of "original
makes the
it
an impediment to understanding as
is
work of
it is
For Verga's verismo, therefore,
("i fatti diversi").
which
literature
is
work of
always being fiction even when
fiction to
of portraying the "real"
fort
a
be what
to
be misrepresented and not taken
liable to
it is
as a representation of true events. This
taken to
art is, after all, a
be misunderstood and taken
fiction and, as such, liable to
much
ef-
it is
as the
readers' understanding which, despite the author's intentions, will always regard
works
his
As
I
as fiction rather than as fictitious equivalents of "real" life situations.
indicated earlier, this
is
from
the greatest barrier to the evolution of literature
fiction to "i fatti diversi" envisaged, if not
hoped
for,
by Verga.
To sum up the theoretical "sense" of Verga's letter to Farina, we could say
Verga's new kind of writing seeks to represent the historical reality of human
that
events with the stylistic efficacy that would give readers the illusion of having
been there and having heard
it
for the first time.
However, he
is
not interested in
representing facts, history or reality, but in drawing the readers'attention to the
mysterious and baffling logic of
leads
men
same. Verga will not
rather,
human
passions which inexorably and inevitably
This process and the process of writing are one and the
to tragedy.
tell
many words;
own minds. In
readers what happens in the story in so
he confronts them with events and
lets
them make up
their
so doing he achieves that objectivity and impersonality associated with verismo
that allows readers to
be observers of "real" events rather than readers of a story
about the event. Verga's aim
literature in
responsibilities as a writer.
what
is
being represented
and
the story
its
not, as Bàrberi Squarotti suggests, to negate
is
The aim of
his
"new
art" is to
remind readers
that
not a product of the author's imagination (although
characters are his invention) but something completely inde-
pendent of his will and
and which
is
favour of some kind of automatic writing or even to shirk from his
we should
fiction.
This
is
the theory that Verga's sketches for Farina
find translated in narrative
form
in
"L'amante
di
Gramigna."
The Story
The
title
of the story
is itself telling
because the name of the outlaw "Gramigna"
already alludes to that "mysterious" process of
to in the letter
gna"
of
literally
evil:
ba che
human
passions that Verga refers
and which constitutes the focus of the novella.^ The name "Grami-
means "mala pianta" (weed,
evil plant)
"un brigante, certo Gramigna, se non
lo porta"
erro,
and has
all
the connotations
un nome maledetto come
(Verga 233). In the story. Gramigna functions as an
destroying everything in his path.
He
evil
l'er-
weed
creates fear and terror in the countryside
Massimo Verdicchio
268
and threatens
to destroy the local harvest
work
are too afraid to
Per giunta
man
si
approssimava
che
di Dio,
i
because the landowners and the farmers
in the fields.
tempo
il
proprietari
delle messi, tutta la raccolta dell'annata in
non s'arrischiavano
a uscir del paese pel timore di
Gramigna. (234)
Compare
Finu, for example, a young and wealthy landowner
gna might
nel tornare ogni sera dalla
veniva a dirle che
fuoco. (235,
Most
is
afraid that
Grami-
set fire to his harvest:
italics
important,
which was
to
campagna, lasciava
mula
la
all'uscio della Peppa, e
seminati erano un incanto, se Gramigna non
i
appiccava
vi
mine)
Gramigna destroys Compare Finn's
be celebrated soon
future marriage to
Peppa
after the harvest.
Compare Finu not only owned many lands ("aveva terre al sole e una mula
was young, strong and handsome, "un giovanotto grande e
baia nella stalla"), but
bello
come
il
sole" (235).
Peppa
invidiato a
He
is
the best catch in town.
seminato prosperoso,
il
la
mula
portava lo stendardo di Santa Margherita senza piegar
woman might
thing a
wish for
in a
"Ma Peppa
un bel giorno
This
she
is
—
gli disse:
le
ing, at the
stander
end of the
who had
— La vostra mula
Why
newspaper
in a
the story of
as
He
lasciatela stare,
is
everyto
perché non
Peppa leaves the man
story, "lo strofmacciolo della
it
How
to
whom
could Peppa,
to the point
of becom-
caserma" (239), a servant
related
the story "faccia a faccia col fatto
from a passer-by on
one of the many
Peppa and Gramigna
"fatti diversi."
is to
nudo e
schiet-
a country road, or as they read
Verga' s concern
in narrating
answer these questions by providing the
human passions and
human heart.
readers with an insight into the mysterious process of
provide them with an understanding ("scienza") of the
Peppa's infatuation with Gramigna
though she has never
to
captured Gramigna? These are the questions that any by-
would ask when hearing
to," or as they hear
avevano
" (235).
the central concern of the story:
the soldiers
.
.
run off to live with Gramigna.
to
betrothed to seek out a bandit she has never even seen?
is
.
bel giovanotto che
reni" (236).
"una delle più belle ragazze di Licodia" (234), degenerate
it
il
husband but Peppa decides, mysteriously,
break off her promised marriage to him and
voglio maritarmi
"Le comari
baia, e
set
is
to
explained gradually and indirectly. Al-
eyes on him, the talk she "hears" about his prowess and
accomplishments makes her believe he was a "real" man and she gradually
falls
in love with that image.
Che
è,
che non
pure. Quello
(235,
my
sì
è,
Peppa
s'era scaldata la testa per
che era un uomo!
italics)
— Che ne
Gramigna, senza conoscerlo nep-
sai?
— Dove
l'hai visto?
—
Nulla.
Theory and Practice
The more Peppa hears
stories
in
"L'amante di Gramigna"
269
about Gramigna' s accomplishments the more she
becomes infatuated with him and
the
more she
desires him.
Però ella seguitava a dire che non lo conosceva neanche di vista quel cristiano; ma
invece pensava sempre a lui, lo vedeva in sogno, la notte, e alla mattina si levava
colle labbra arse, assetata anch'essa,
Her mother's attempts
come
(236)
lui.
prevent her from hearing more about him and to dis-
to
suade her from her blind passion
fail.
Allora la vecchia la chiuse in casa, perché non sentisse più parlare di Gramigna, e
tappò tutte
le fessure dell'uscio
dicevano nella strada, dietro
me
se
The
origin of
Peppa 's passion
whom
It is
roics
Peppa ascoltava quello che
di santi.
si
faceva pallida e rossa, co-
Gramigna
creating an idealized
mine)
the stories she hears about
is in
These
her.
italics
stories prey
him
on the young
image of Gramigna as a
"real
man"
she blindly believes and comes to desire.
clear
from the story
that the
people
who
talk
have never seen him. What they know and
from someone
as
for
by passers-by and by those around
woman's imagination by
in
con immagini
immagini benedette, e
diavolo le soffiasse tutto l'inferno nella faccia. (236,
il
related
le
else. In
what they have "heard"
other words, what Peppa "hears" about Gramigna, as well
what we readers know and read about him,
have heard and,
about Gramigna and his he-
relate is
have repeated
in their turn,
is
what people
to others.
These
in the
countryside
stories, therefore,
do
not narrate real events but are the grossly exaggerated tales that people spin about
people and events they
fact that
Gramigna
know
is still
nothing about, which
is
on the loose and not much
why
they invent them.
else is
sufficient to stimulate people's imaginations to invent
The
known about him
is
and exaggerate details
about a Gramigna with superhuman qualities. These fictions transform Gramigna
from a petty bandit and
a fugitive
from justice into a
larger-than-life hero, feared,
admired and loved. The following description, which readers usually read as a
true account of actual events, is in fact the exaggerated account of what people
invent about Gramigna and which Peppa and the reader "hear."
Carabinieri, soldati, e militi a cavallo, lo inseguivano da due mesi, senza esser riusciti
a mettergli le unghie addosso: era solo,
minacciava
di moltiplicarsi
questura, dei carabinieri, dei
....
Il
ma
valeva per dieci, e la mala pianta
prefetto fece chiamare tutti quei signori della
compagni d'armi, e subito
in
moto
pattuglie, squadri-
glie, vedette per ogni fossato, e dietro ogni muricciolo: se lo cacciavano dinanzi
come una mala
bestia per tutta
una provincia,
di giorno di notte, a piedi, a cavallo,
Gramigna sgusciava loro di mano, o rispondeva a schioppettate, se
gli camminavano un po' troppo sulle calcagna. Nelle campagne, nei villaggi, per le
fattorie, sotto le frasche delle osterie, nei luoghi di ritrovo, non si parlava altro
col telegrafo.
che di
lui,
di
Gramigna,
rifiniti
fuga disperata. I
compagni d'armi si buttavano
di quella caccia accanita, di quella
cavalli dei carabinieri cascavano stanchi morti;
per terra, in tutte le
stalle; le pattuglie
i
dormivano
all'impiedi: egli solo,
Massimo Verdicchio
270
non
Gramigna,
era
stanco
non
mai,
dormiva
s'arrampicava sui precipizi, strisciava fra
fichidindia, sgattajolava
come un lupo
le messi,
combatteva
mai,
sempre,
correva carponi nel folto dei
nel letto asciutto dei torrenti. Per duecento
miglia all'intorno, correva la leggenda delle sue gesta, del suo coraggio, della sua
forza, di quella lotta disperata, lui solo contro mille, stanco affamato, arso dalla
pianura immensa, arsa, sotto
sete, nella
sole di giugno. (234, italics mine)
il
This account of Gramigna does not correspond to real events but reproduces only
the exaggerated version fabricated
by people's
and keep
becomes
alive the only reality. This is the "reality"
it
the fiction that
Verga claims
is
ignorance and vivid imagi-
fears,
nations. This fiction takes the place of reality and
for those
Peppa
falls in
who
independent of the author
who
create
it
love with and
represents
it,
and
rightly so.
The exaggerated
betrothed to
Gramigna
tales that transform
imagination and arouse her passion.
someone she does not
As
into a hero inflame Peppa's
young and impressionable girl, perhaps
she readily believes them as if they were
a
love,
real. In her mind, the prospect of being married to the wealthiest and most hand-
— Verga purposedly exaggerates
not
wealth of Compare Finu —
some man
material
a
in
town
man who
risks his life
whose adventurous
everyday
life is in
her eyes a
welcome
Gramigna appears
object of desire than the
man
she
is
and
and
thrilling as a life with
combat against hundreds of
in
tence in which she lives and will live as
surprise, therefore, that
the physical attributes
as exciting
is
soldiers
and
from the humdrum exis-
relief
Compare Finu' s wife. It comes as no
her as more of a man and more of an
to
soon to wed.
Verga explains Gramigna's transformation from unknown criminal to hero as
the terror, or evil, of fame: "il terrore della sua fama." Verga wants to allude not
only to the fear that Gramigna
those
instills in
who
"deeds," but also to the destruction he causes in his
spread rumors about his
wake such
as the break
up of
Peppa's engagement to Compare Finu and her eventual tragic end. The two,
in
fact, are
but aspects of the same process since the terror that Gramigna creates in
others
the result of the stories people relate about him.
To
is
appreciate what
is really
going on
must distinguish between what Verga
in this short but
tells
complete sketch, we
us of Gramigna, the character, from
terror that fame has created. The distinction entails a differentiabetween Verga the author and Verga the observer, from whose point of view
Gramigna, the
tion
the story
is
partly told,
and
Gramigna and Peppa "pei
who
poses as any bystander
viottoli dei
who
hears the story of
campi." While the presence of the author
marks the inevitable "peccato d'origine" of which Verga speaks
in the letter to
which allows the reader
to differentiate
Farina,
fact
it
from
is
also the necessary presence
fiction,
which usually are
identical in a naturalistic story,
the cause of Peppa's afflictions and the mysterious workings of the
The presence of Verga
the writer undermines
what
is
fame has
created.
human
heart.
being stated by Verga
the observer and denounces the discrepancy between the "real"
the larger-than-life hero that
and determine
Gramigna from
At the beginning of
the tale.
Verga
Theory and Practice
goes out of his way
emphasize
to
"L'amante di Gramigna"
in
that
Gramigna was
non erro" (233,
brigante, certo Gramigna, se
up with the bandit for the
is
the great bandit people are
time.
We
see him, then, for what he really
is,
and despicable man who takes advantage of Peppa's
fatuation to serve his
The key
first
"m/j
confirmed by the episode where Peppa meets
to be. This is also
ruthless, unfeeling
unknown,
virtually an
mine). Verga wants to dispel
italics
any doubt the reader may have that Gramigna
making him out
271
own
selfish
ends (237).
insight the reader gains
tween the two Gramignas
the mysterious process
from an awareness of the discrepancy be-
what Verga
is
a
in-
He
describes
in the
people's
of fame."
calls the "terror
whereby an unknown outlaw becomes,
imagination, a feared bandit capable of standing up alone against a thousand
men. By virtue of
mouths of those who spread
sent after
to
him
multiplies,
stories
and
ma valeva per dieci")
weeds
like
in the
about him. Likewise, the number of soldiers
only increases his prowess as he
this
unknown
of Gramigna, a lone and
this process, the initial story
bandit, "grows" and multiplies ("era solo,
is
always able
elude them and defend himself against hundreds. Similarly, talk of Gramigna
multiplies everywhere ("non
si
parlava d'altro che di
of the town and people constantly speak, or invent
rumours
ess escalates to the point that the
powers.
He
made
seem inept and
to
is
always fighting and he
delle sue gesta"), strong
Gramigna's power
the same, the
ta" are
pun
words
until
good
it
is
fatigued.
him almost supernatural
attribute to
never
tired,
He becomes
whereas those
in pursuit are
the legendary hero ("la leggenda
power of "gramigna," of "mala
the
same
since, as
thing.
I
The
pianta," or,
The process describes
explains the "misterioso processo" that
story
is
based on and develops from
umano"
the "semplice fatto
stirs
human
passions. This
is
woman
Even long
no one and nothing can stop
remains faithful
moment
after his capture,
to the
excites
at
once
it
unable
this
in
mys-
has been set in
to
open Peppa's
the fact that
from the
it.
The mysterious unfolding of human passions and
they are also
it
is
image of the man she loves despite
it,
the
and the humiliations she suffers for him, Peppa
she meets him everything contradicts
hearsay, which triggers
Verga
and (mis)leads her into believing
motion. Even the confrontation with the real Gramigna
eyes.
this
the process
the reality of a fiction that eventually destroys her. For the nature of
terious process is such that
is
all that is
that for
whereby the hyperbolic and exaggerated language of hearsay
imaginations and passions of a young
which
indicated earlier, "fama" and "mala pian-
has distorted the characters' sense of reality and destroyed
in its path.
the talk
about him. This proc-
and courageous, and always successful.
power of fame
for the
is
He becomes
lui").
stories,
the fictitious language of
are not only mirror images of the
same process but
one with the creative process. This identity between the language
of hearsay, the language of passion and the language of the story justifies Verga's
claim of objectivity. The key term
common
to all these processes,
story is differently rendered as "gramigna," "mala pianta," "fama,"
figurai or metaphorical language, as the
initial
pun
which
is
in the
language,
suggests: the language of
Massimo Verdicchio
272
passion in Peppa's case, the language of fear for the townspeople, and the
descriptive language of the story which imitates their exaggerated tales. In each
we
case
are dealing with a process that only apparently
the speaker. This
is
moves beyond
meaning intended by
the reality
the
within the control of
is
fame which
clearly the case with the language of
the speakers transforming
easily
and distorting
which they believe they are describing.
Nelle campagne, nei villaggi, per le fattorie, sotto
luoghi di ritrovo, non si parlava d'altro che di
frasche delle osterie, nei
le
gramigna, di quella caccia
lui, di
accanita, di quella fuga disperata. (234, italics mine)
a language that does not state things as they are but distorts the reality of
It is
making them appear
things
they are.
not rooted in reality but takes the
is
goes independently of the original
real as its starting point inventing its story as
it
meaning which
to.
its title
this
language
and does violence
distorts
name "mala
and
in
it
pianta," this language
For, as
is
it is
Peppa's case,
it
clear
from the story
ultimately destructive.
allowed to take the place of the real and
is
more appealing than
different or, as in Peppa's case,
The language of fame or hearsay
is
When
believed to be real, as
blinds the character to a reality from which she becomes
increasingly severed and precipitates her toward her inevitable tragic fate.
in the story is called the terror
of fame
What
really the terror of language.
is
Similarly, the exaggerated tales of the townspeople about Gramigna's ex-
traordinary feats, which are symptomatic of their fears and their ignorance of
what
really
is
threatening.
going on, multiply as their
The
become more
tales
terror of their tales generates
more
those fears, and so on. In both cases, the real threat
guage, these
And
tales,
not
is
is
At the
destructive.
terrifying
Gramigna but
Gramigna, as
I
indicated,
better, the destructive process
of
weeds which, growing rampant
is
a pun, a play
evil, as
this lan-
haunt them.
to
level of textual representa-
tion, the figurai or tropological equivalent to this process is the trope
fication.
and
account for or dispel
which people invent and which now come back
both cases the process
in
tales to
on words,
of personi-
to personify evil, or
exemplified by the destructive growth of
in a field destroy all vegetation.
Gramigna, as the
personification of this evil, can be said to allegorize the proliferation of figurai
language from the
pun
initial
to
ever
more
terrifying
formations, distorting and doing violence to our
own
and threatening
trans-
As
in the
sense of reality.
story of Frankenstein, the man-created monster that goes out of control until
destroys everything in
migna"
is this figurai
feed
and nourish
it
Peppa
is
its
path including
its
creator, in
it
Verga the monster "Gra-
language which creates havoc amongst the characters which
it
until
it
has destroyed the very people that keep
not the only victim. Besides her and
Compare
it
alive.
Finu, Peppa's mother dies
heartbroken for the shame her daughter has brought on her house and family. The
reader
who
is
also another victim.
falls in
Reading
this tale as just a
simple
love with a bandit, the reader's sense of what
is
tale
really
of a
woman
going on
is
Theory and Practice
in "L' amante di
distorted and violated. But, then, this
hoped
273
one of the objectives Verga's verismo
is
to achieve.
The same can be
said of the author.
guage than the townspeople or Peppa.
words of popular
narrative, "press'a
Verga has no more control over
In representing the simple
process as the others are and can only represent
this process, to
and objectivity
it
as
pit-
equally caught within this
is
it
unravels.
The
inevitability
which even the author must abide, ensures, the impersonality
that
Verga claimed
one can easily see how Verga can
been made by
this lan-
and picturesque
poco colle medesime parole semplici e
toresche della narrazione popolare" (232), Verga
of
Gramigna"
itself ("essersi fatta
From
in the letter to Farina.
state that the
da sé") and
to
work of
this perspective,
seem
art will
have
to
have arisen spontaneously "as a
natural fact."
The
difference between Verga and his characters lies precisely in the aware-
ness of the constitutive figurai nature of this process. Verga calls
peccato
it "il
d'origine," the original sin which, in theory, discriminates between the literary
event of the story from everyday events, the
however,
"fatti diversi."
At the narrative
level,
exemplified as an awareness of the constitutive fictional or narra-
it is
tological nature of the process
which enables the reader
mystification inherent in the process.
Through
to
become aware of
this process, the reader
the
can gain an
human heart, of the mysterious
man to catastrophe. Verga imitates
drives men and women to their fate and
insight into the depth and complexity of the
process of
human
passions that inevitably lead
the arbitrary and mysterious process that
denounces
its
inherent fictitious and figurai nature by calling attention to
it
and
paving the way towards a deeper and greater understanding of the human psyche
and
passions.
its
Our
analysis of "L'amante di
between the story and Verga's
tive practice.
The prose sketch
theoretical statement.
It
Gramigna" proves
letter to Farina,
that there is
no discrepancy
between the theory and the narra-
stands as the "perfect" narrative equivalent to the
illustrates in a narrative, or allegorical
mode, what the
author had already stated theoretically. Contrary to traditional opinion. Verga can
be said to be very much the theorist of his
own brand
very clear understanding of his work.
could not be otherwise.
It
of verismo and to possess a
It
would be
impossible for a writer of Verga's stature not to possess a theoretical understanding of his
Verga
is a
of his
own
own
literary constructs.
We could go
one step further and say
that
theorist of verismo because he is a great writer of the genre, or at least
genre of verismo. Capuana
benedetti claims, but since he
understanding of verismo
is
is
may be
a better theorist of verismo, as
De-
not reputed to be as great a writer as Verga, his
bound
to
be theoretical and abstract making
it
highly
doubtful that he would be capable of probing the depths of Verga's prose.
It
goes without saying that what has been said of "L'amante
di
Gramigna"
applies not only to Verga's other stories but also to "Rosso Malpelo." All of
them
can be said to be allegories of Verga's theory of verismo expounded in the
letter
to Farina. It
would not be
difficult to
show, for example,
that, like
Peppa 's, Ros-
Massimo Verdicchio
274
so 's tragic fate
misnomer "malpelo" and follows
the result of the
is
destructive path as Gramigna's "mala pianta."
himself he feels he must live up
name and
(generated by the
Peppa,
A
regardless of his true nature, until the process
to,
a victim of people's "hearsay" about
is
him and,
caught
like Peppa, he is
work
similar process is at
in the
novels and clearly in / Malavoglia where
main characters have equally been branded with a misnomer
and more prosperous
bene, o che
si sta
upon and
The mysterious process of man's passions
similar to the
one described
arresting
becomes
glia"
future, "la
a
fit
it
in
full irony, calls
cammino
"L'amante
Gramigna"
is set
into
a process
motion with
goes to ruin and the name "malavo-
Verga alludes
to this
fatal
process as "fiumana."
which the main characters
the mysterious process in
journey of humanity that Verga,
man's progress:
spesso faticoso e febbrile che segue l'umanità per
conquista del progresso .... (Verga, Opere 178)
"grandioso" only
is
what may
closer analysis
when viewed from
a distance ("da lontano").
seem a virtuous undertaking
On
only a vehicle for vice
is
to the corruption that underlies these grandiose results:
and points
le irrequietudini, le avidità,
debolezze
di
until the entire family
fatale, incessante,
la
This process
this desire is acted
by purchasing the rotten lupines,
Malavoglia are caught but also the
raggiungere
re-
a better
vaga bramosia dell'ignoto, l'accorgersi che non
In the introduction to his novel.
/
have
description of at least one of their members.
The term describes not only
with
lot, to
potrebbe stare meglio" (Verga 177). Once
si
translated into reality,
no hope of
that can't wait to
Although they are a hard-working family, they are known as "I ma-
fulfilled.
surfaces in the Malavoglia family's desire to improve their
II
in-
the reputation) brings about his demise. Rosso, like
lavoglia," as lazy and indolent.
of
same
and
process he cannot control but can only resign himself to and accept.
in a
the
the
arbitrary
innocent naming of Rosso as "malpelo" condemns the boy to an image of
itially
be
The townfolks'
.
.
.
l'egoismo, tutte le passioni,
tutti
i
vizi
.
.
.
tutte le
(Verga, Opere 178)
tutte le contraddizioni.
Like Gramigna's "mala pianta," the "fiumana" of progress ("Dalla ricerca del benessere materiale alle più elevate ambizioni") sweeps
discrimination including those
history.
to the
From
/
Malavoglia
Onorevole Scipione
to
to
who
at first sight
Mastro don Gesualdo,
L'Uomo
di Lusso, all
novels are losers, "vinti." Like Peppa, they are
and drowned,
travolti
"altrettanti vinti
che
la
all
to the
to
be the makers of
Duchessa
di Leyra,
the main characters of these
swept away by
corrente ha deposti sulla riva,
their desires
dopo
averli
e annegati, ciascuno colle stimmate del suo peccato, che avrebbero dovu-
to essere lo sfolgorare della sua virtù" (Verga,
In
away everyone without
may appear
"L'amante
deals with
di
human
takes up other and
Gramigna," and
Opere 178).
in other stories
of Vita dei Campi, Verga
passions, namely, love, fear, respect, honor. In the novels he
more grandiose passions
like the desire for well-being,
ambi-
Theory and Practice
is
who have
man
for a "real"
caught
living, these characters are
protagonists
275
process in which the characters are caught
tion, greed. In all these cases the
same. Whether the desire
"L'amante di Gramigna"
in
in a
or,
simply, for a
process in which only apparently are they
control over their actions.
Whether
the process
"gramigna," "malpelo" or "fiumana," these characters are caught
which sweeps them away on the shore of
we
are confronted with a process
rious" process of
human
language that triggers
have portrayed
it,
this link
which
it
in a
called
is
mechanism
their inevitable catastrophe. In all cases
linguistic in essence since the "myste-
is
passions that Verga represents
sustains
the
is
more comfortable
not separate from the
is
and, finally, sweeps these characters away.
between language and passion
what
is
is
To
revolutionary in
Verga's verismo and stands as his great contribution to the science of the human
heart.
Although "Rosso Malpelo," or any of
ga's poetics, in principle,
tionally, that
them
out.
di storia," without the
narrative, can
makes
it
clear
is
his
This
is
this reason,
mechanism
vital
that underlies
it
and
Gramigna" should
rightly be con-
Campi but of Verga's
writing in gen-
"L'amante
di
Verga had intended.
for
Verga who
without judging
is
this
equally caught within this process,
he can do
is
stand
it.
Chi osserva questo spettacolo non ha
diritto di giudicarlo
il
campo
stata,
... è già molto se
della lotta per studiarla senza passione, e
rendere la scena nettamente, coi colori adatti, tale da dare
com'è
all
"mysterious" process objectively and dispassionately,
riesce a trarsi un istante fuori del
rappresentazione della
la
o come avrebbe dovuto essere (Verga, Opere 179,
Whether we
call this
so be
it,
but
we
stand
it,
dictate the
field
tradi-
because, as Verga well knew, only an "ab-
expose the essential and
work. For
back and portray
realtà
Ver-
to explain
trimmings and trappings of a unified and complete
sidered paradigmatic not only of Vita dei
eral, as
As
works could be used
from the way they have been read,
has not been equally possible to determine the relevant narrative
it
structures that single
bozzo
it
my
italics)
process "irony" or "verismo," as traditional criticism has
should not
let a
way we
definition of verismo, as
read Verga.
we
it,
traditionally under-
The dangers of "hearsay," even
of literary criticism, are clearly too dire for us to choose to ignore
its
in the
warnings.
University of Alberta
NOTES
The
short story
was
initially
published as "L'Amante di Raja" in the February 1880 issue
of Rivista minima di scienze, lettere ed
arti.
In the
same year
it
was included
in the col-
lection of stories Vita dei campi.
This attitude
is
also echoed by Cecchetti
many common characteristics
who beUeves, however,
of Verga's prose (Cecchetti 32
ff.).
that the letter can point to
Massimo Verdicchio
276
3
The importance of the name
to Gramigna
is
evident in Verga's decision to change the bandit's
name
from Raja
I
WORKS CITED
Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio. Giovanni Verga. Le finzioni dietro
il
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Cecchetti, Giovanni.
Croce, Benedetto.
La
//
Verga maggiore.
letteratura della
Debenedetti, Giacomo. Verga e
il
Sette studi. Firenze:
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Voi.
La Nuova
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1968.
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Luperini,
Romano. Verga
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Verga, Giovanni. Le Novelle di Giovanni Verga. Ed. Gino Tellini. 2 vols. Roma: Salerno, 1970.
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Opere. Milano, Napoli: Ricciardi, 1961.