Morante, Elsa

Morante, Elsa

▪ Italian author
born Aug. 18, 1912, Rome, Italy
died Nov. 25, 1985, Rome
 Italian novelist, short-story writer, and poet known for the epic and mythical quality of her works, which usually centre upon the struggles of the young in coming to terms with the world of adulthood.

      Morante early exhibited literary talent, and, although her formal education remained incomplete, her marriage to the novelist Alberto Moravia (Moravia, Alberto) brought her for a time into association with the leading Italian writers of the day. However, she remained largely outside the Neorealism movement within which many of these writers worked. Her first novel, Menzogna e sortilegio (1948; House of Liars), recounts the complex history of a southern Italian family through the memory and imagination of a young woman. Morante's next novel, L'isola di Arturo (1957; Arturo's Island), examines a boy's growth from childhood dreams to the painful disillusions of adulthood. This novel, for which she won the Strega Prize, is notable for its delicate lyricism and its mingling of realistic detail with an air of unreality; it is often compared to Moravia's Agostino (1944; Two Adolescents), another tale of adolescent initiation.

      The novel La storia (1974; History: A Novel) met with mixed critical reaction, but it achieved commercial success. Set primarily in Rome between 1941 and 1947, its focus is the arduous existence of a simple, half-Jewish elementary school teacher and her young son, Useppe, born after she is raped by a German soldier. The story reaffirms the author's passionately held ideology, which is tinged with anarchism, denies any possibility of humane politics, and, with Useppe's death, apparently excludes any final hope for humanity. Morante's final novel, Aracoeli (1982; Eng. trans. Aracoeli), recounts a trip taken by its troubled protagonist to Spain, where he attempts to recapture his lost childhood and uncover his mother's past. Like History, Aracoeli was not universally acclaimed by critics, but it serves as a summation of many currents in Morante's work.

      Morante also published a volume of short stories, Lo scialle andaluso (1963; “The Andalusian Shawl”); a volume of essays, Il gioco secreto (1941; “The Secret Game”); and two collections of poetry, Alibi (1958) and Il mondo salvato dai ragazzini (1968; “The World Saved by Little Children”). Her collected works were published in 1988–90, and a version of her diary appeared in 1989 as Diario 1938 (“Diary 1938”). Racconti dimenticati (2002; “Forgotten Stories”) is a collection of her early fiction.

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  • Morante, Elsa — (1918–1985)    An important figure in postwar Italian fiction, Elsa Morante was the author of four major novels, Menzogna e Sortilegio (The House of Liars, 1948), L’Isola di Arturo (Arturo’s Island, 1957), La Storia (History:A Novel, 1974), and… …   Historical Dictionary of modern Italy

  • Morante, Elsa — (Roma 1912 1985) scrittrice; poetessa e saggista; giornalista. collab./opere: “Il Mondo” …   Dizionario biografico elementare del Novecento letterario italiano

  • Elsa Morante — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Elsa Morante (Roma, 18 de agosto de 1912 Roma, 25 de noviembre de 1985) fue una escritora italiana, una de las más importantes de la segunda mitad del siglo XX.[1] Contenido 1 Infancia y juventud …   Wikipedia Español

  • MORANTE (E.) — MORANTE ELSA (1915 1985) Elsa Morante naît et grandit à Rome, dans le quartier populaire du Testaccio. Après une enfance douloureuse, dont le souvenir hantera ses romans, elle rencontre Alberto Moravia, en 1936, et l’épouse en 1941. La même année …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Elsa Morante — (* 18. August 1912 in Rom; † 25. November 1985 ebenda) war eine italienische Schriftstellerin, die zu den wichtigsten Vertreterinnen der Nachkriegsliteratur gezählt wird. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Biografie 2 Werke (Auswahl) 3 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Elsa Morante — (August 18, 1912 25 November, 1985) was an Italian novelist, perhaps best known for her novel La storia ( History ). BiographyElsa Morante was born in Rome in 1912, and except for a period during World War II, would reside in her home city until… …   Wikipedia

  • Elsa Morante — (18 août 1912 25 novembre 1985) est une femme de lettres italienne. Biographie Elle naît à Rome (Italie) et passe son enfance dans le quartier populaire du Testaccio. Fille d une institutrice d origine juive et d un employé… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Elsa — ist ein weiblicher Vorname. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Herkunft und Bedeutung 2 Bekannte Namensträgerinnen 3 Bekannte Tiere 4 Fiktive Figuren …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Morante — ist der Name folgender Personen: Elsa Morante (1918–1985), italienische Schriftstellerin Laura Morante (* 1956), italienische Schauspielerin Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung mehrerer mit demselben Wort …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Elsa — Kurzform von → Elisabeth (Bedeutung: mein Gott ist vollkommen). Namensträgerin: Elsa Morante, italienische Schriftstellerin …   Deutsch namen

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