Sardus Madesani (1901–1938) Francesco Madesani (1904–1981)
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Grazia Maria Cosima Damiana Deledda (Italian:[ˈɡrattsjadeˈlɛdda];Sardinian:Gràssia orGràtzia Deledda[1][2][ˈɡɾa(t)si.aðɛˈlɛɖːa]; 27 September 1871 – 15 August 1936) was anItalian writer who received theNobel Prize for Literature in 1926[3] "for her idealistically inspired writings which with plastic clarity picture the life on her native island [i.e.Sardinia] and with depth and sympathy deal with human problems in general".[4] She was the first Italian woman to receive the prize, and only the second woman in general afterSelma Lagerlöf was awarded hers in 1909.[5]
Deledda was born inNuoro,Sardinia, into a middle-class family, to Giovanni Antonio Deledda and Francesca Cambosu, as the fourth of seven siblings. She attended elementary school (the minimum required at the time) and was then educated by a private tutor (a guest of one of her relatives) and moved on to study literature on her own. It was during this time that she started displaying an interest in writing short novels, mostly inspired by the life of Sardinian peasants and their struggles. Her teacher encouraged her to submit her writing to a newspaper and, at age 13, her first story was published in a local journal.[6] Some of Deledda's early works were published in the fashion magazineL'ultima moda between 1888 and 1889. In 1890 Trevisani publishedNell'azzurro (Into the Blue), her first collection of short stories. Deledda's main focus was the representation of poverty and the struggles associated with it through a combination of imaginary and autobiographical elements. Her family wasn't particularly supportive of her desire to write.
Deledda's first novel,Fiori di Sardegna (Flowers of Sardinia) was published in 1892. Her 1896 bookPaesaggi sardi, published by Speirani, is characterized by a prose both informed by fiction and poetry. Around this time Deledda initiated a regular collaboration with newspapers and magazines, most notablyLa Sardegna,Piccola Rivista andNuova Antologia. Her work earned significant visibility as well as critical interest. In October 1899, Deledda met Palmiro Madesani, a functionary of the Ministry of Finance, inCagliari.[7] Madesani and Deledda were married in 1900 and the couple moved to Rome right after the publication of Deledda'sIl vecchio della montagna (The Old Man from the Mountain, 1900). Despite the birth of her two sons, Sardus (1901) and Francesco "Franz" (1904),[8] Deledda managed to continue to write prolifically, publishing about a novel a year.[8]
Deledda with her husband Palmiro and son Sardus, Rome, circa 1904
In 1903 she publishedElias Portolu, which was met with commercial and critical success, boosting her reputation as a writer. This was followed byCenere (Ashes, 1904);L'edera (The Ivy, 1908);Sino al confine (To the Border, 1910);Colombi e sparvieri (Doves and Sparrows, 1912); and her most popular book,Canne al vento (Reeds in the Wind, 1913).
In 1916Cenere was the inspiration for a silent movie with famed Italian actressEleonora Duse. It was the first and only time that Duse, a theatre performer, appeared in a film. Deledda was one of the contributors of the nationalist women's magazine,Lidel, which was established in 1919.[9]
In 1926Henrik Schück, a member of theSwedish Academy, nominated Deledda for the Nobel Prize in Literature.[10] Deledda won "for her idealistically inspired writings which with plastic clarity picture the life on her native island and with depth and sympathy deal with human problems in general." She was awarded the Prize in a ceremony inStockholm in 1926. Her initial response to the news was "Già?" ("Already?")
Deledda's win contributed to an increase in popularity of her writing.Benito Mussolini, who had just consolidated his grip on power, sent Deledda a signed portrait of himself with a dedication where he expressed his "profound admiration" for the writer. Flocks of journalists and photographers started visiting her home in Rome. Deledda initially welcomed them but eventually grew tired of the attention. One day she noticed that her beloved pet crow, Checca, was visibly irritated by the commotion, with people constantly coming in and out of the house. "If Checca has had enough, so have I," Deledda was quoted as saying, and she returned to a more retired routine.The events also put a strain on Deledda's extremely methodical writings schedule. Her day would start with a late breakfast, followed by a morning of hard reading, lunch, a quick nap and a few hours of writing before dinner.
Deledda continued to write even as she grew older and more fragile. Her subsequent works,La Casa del Poeta (The House of the Poet, 1930) andSole d'Estate (Summer Sun, 1933), indicate a more optimistic view of life even as she was experiencing serious health issues.
Deledda died in Rome at the age of 64 of breast cancer.La chiesa della solitudine (The Church of Solitude, 1936), Deledda's last novel, is a semi-autobiographical depiction of a young Italian woman coming to terms with a fatal disease. A completed manuscript of the novelCosima was discovered after her death and published posthumously in 1937.[5]
Deledda's birthplace and childhood home inNuoro was declared a national heritage building and purchased in 1968 by the Municipality of Nuoro, which in 1979 handed it over to the Regional Ethnographic Institute (ISRE) for the symbolic price of 1,000 Italian Lire. The Institute transformed the house into a museum commemorating the writer, and it's now called the Museo Deleddiano.[11] The museum consists of ten rooms showcasing the most important episodes in Deledda's life.[12]
The life, customs, and traditions of theSardinian people are prominent in Deledda's writing.[8] She often relies on detailed geographical descriptions and her characters often present a strong connection with their place of origins. Many of her characters are outcasts who silently struggle withisolation.[8] Overall Deledda's work focuses on love,pain and death, upon which rests feelings ofsin andfatality. Her novels tend to criticize social values and moral norms rather than the people who are victims of such circumstances.In her works it can be recognized the influence of theverism ofGiovanni Verga and, sometimes, also that of thedecadentism ofGabriele D'Annunzio, although her writing style is not so ornate. Despite her groundbreaking role in Italian and World literature, Deledda has failed to be acknowledged as afeminist writer, possibly due to her tendency of depicting women's pain and suffering as opposed to women's autonomy.[8]
L'edera (1908), English translation asIvy by Mary Ann Frese Witt and Martha Witt (2019)
Il nonno (1908), English translation of the short story "Il ciclamino" as "The Cyclamen" by Maria Di Salvatore and Pan Skordos, in "Journal of Italian Translation", Volume XIV, Number 1, Spring 2019
^"Grazia Deledda".The Florentine. 25 March 2010. Retrieved9 September 2019.
^abcdeMigiel, Marilyn. (1994). "Grazia Deledda." Italian Women Writers: A Bio-bibliographical Sourcebook. By Rinaldina Russell. Westport, CT: Greenwood. 111-117. Print.
Attilio Momigliano, "Intorno a Grazia Deledda", inUltimi studi, La Nuova Italia,Florence, 1954.
Emilio Cecchi, "Grazia Deledda", inStoria della Letteratura Italiana: Il Novecento, Garzanti,Milan, 1967.
Antonio Piromalli, "Grazia Deledda", La Nuova Italia, Florence, 1968.
Natalino Sapegno, "Prefazione", inRomanzi e novelle,Mondadori, Milan, 1972.
Giulio Angioni, "Grazia Deledda: l'antropologia positivistica e la diversità della Sardegna", inGrazia Deledda nella cultura contemporanea, Satta, Nuoro, 1992
Giulio Angioni, "Introduzione", inTradizioni popolari di Nuoro, Ilisso, Biblioteca Sarda, Nuoro, 2010.
Onnis, Omar; Mureddu, Manuelle (2019).Illustres. Vita, morte e miracoli di quaranta personalità sarde (in Italian). Sestu: Domus de Janas.ISBN978-88-97084-90-7.OCLC1124656644.
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