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Umbertina
''Umbertina'' (1979) is a feminist novel by Helen Barolini. It tells the story of four generations of women in one Italian-American family. It is the first novel by an Italian-American woman which explores, in depth, the connected themes of gender and ethnicity. Plot Prologue The prologue is set in Rome in the 1970s, with Marguerite, an American expatriate, in the office of her psychiatrist. Although living a comfortable middle-class life, Marguerite is floundering, without direction. She often thinks of her maternal grandmother, Umbertina, who had a "primitive strength" that Marguerite envies. Part One: Umbertina, 1860-1940 At sixteen, Umbertina works as a goatherd in the hills above the Calabrian village of Castagna. She lives with her parents, brothers, and sisters in a one-room, dirt-floored stone cabin. Her father, Carlo Nenci, is a poor tenant farmer who toils for the Baron Mancuso di Valerba, an absentee landlord who takes half of everything produced by the villagers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helen Barolini
Helen Barolini (born November 18, 1925) is an American writer, editor, and translator. As a second-generation Italian American, Barolini often writes on issues of Italian-American identity.How to count American immigrant generations is a subject of dispute. Some begin counting with the immigrants themselves; others begin with the first generation born in the United States. Using the latter method, an American such as Barolini, whose grandparents were natives of Italy and whose parents were born in the United States, would be considered a second-generation Italian American. Among her notable works are ''Umbertina'' (1979), a novel which tells the story of four generations of women in one Italian-American family; and an anthology, ''The Dream Book: An Anthology of Writings by Italian American Women'' (1985), which called attention to an emerging, and previously unnoticed, class of writers. Biography Early life and education Helen Frances Barolini (née Mollica) was born on Nov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |