Fictionalized Italian Gender Relations Through Ferrante and Ammaniti

Abstract

The thesis investigates sexual assault and gendered violence in Italy using a study of Italian gender relations through sociopolitical research and literature. Beginning with an inclusion of the author’s independent study Siamo Lei, the subjugation of Italian women is considered through three systems: the church, the state, and the home. After describing the condition of woman in Italy, the thesis includes a personal narrative of sexual harassment in the country. To connect the personal experience with the more general lived experience in Italy, the thesis uses literature from two Italian novelists: Elena Ferrante and Niccolò Ammaniti. From that framework, there is a critique of the sexual assault statistic in Italy and the argument that the number does not account for unreported assaults and, therefore, cannot be an indicator for the real situation in the country. The thesis ends with a critical analysis of Italian masculinity and its connection to gendered violence, and offers solutions to the Italian gendered problem. It should be noted that the thesis considers primarily heterosexual relationships between men and women, and a queer study of gender in Italy could be a future site of exploration.