Alberto Moravia ( , ; born Alberto Pincherle ; 28 November 1907 – 26 September 1990) was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

, social alienation and

existentialism Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...

. Moravia is best known for his

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

Gli indifferenti ''Gli Indifferenti'' (''The Time of Indifference'', also translated as ''The Indifferent Ones'') is a novel by Alberto Moravia, published in 1929. Background After a meeting with friends at which it was agreed that each should produce a nove ...

'' (''The Time of Indifference'' 1929) and for the anti-fascist novel ''Il Conformista'' (''

The Conformist ''The Conformist'' (''Il conformista'') is a novel by Alberto Moravia published in 1951, which details the life and desire for normality of a government official during Italy's fascist period. It is also known for the 1970 film adaptation by B ...

'' 1947), the basis for the film ''

'' (1970) directed by

Bernardo Bertolucci Bernardo Bertolucci (; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved international ...

. Other novels of his adapted for the cinema are ''Agostino'', filmed with the same title by

Mauro Bolognini Mauro Bolognini (28 June 1922 – 14 May 2001) was an Italian film and stage director of literate sensibility, known for his masterly handling of period subject matter. Early years Bolognini was born in Pistoia, in the Tuscany region of Italy. ...

in 1962; ''

Il disprezzo ''Il disprezzo'', known in English as ''Contempt'' or ''A Ghost At Noon'', is an Italian existential novel by Alberto Moravia that came out in 1954. It was the basis for the 1963 film '' Le Mépris'' by Jean-Luc Godard. Plot Young Riccardo Molt ...

'' (''A Ghost at Noon'' or ''Contempt''), filmed by

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran� ...

as ''Le Mépris'' (''

Contempt Contempt is a pattern of attitudes and behaviour, often towards an individual or a group, but sometimes towards an ideology, which has the characteristics of disgust and anger. The word originated in 1393 in Old French contempt, contemps, ...

'' 1963); ''La Noia'' (''Boredom''), filmed with that title by

Damiano Damiani Damiano Damiani (23 July 1922 – 7 March 2013) was an Italian screenwriter, film director, actor and writer. Poet and director Pier Paolo Pasolini referred to him as "a bitter moralist hungry for old purity", while film critic Paolo Mere ...

in 1963 and released in the US as ''

The Empty Canvas ''The Empty Canvas'' is a 1963 Italian drama film directed by Damiano Damiani. The screenplay written by Damiani, Tonino Guerra and Ugo Liberatore is based on the best-selling novel ''La noia'' by Alberto Moravia. The film stars Horst Buchholz ...

'' in 1964 and ''

La ciociara ''Two Women'' ( it, La ciociara , rough literal translation "The Woman from Ciociaria") is a 1960 war drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica from a screenplay by Cesare Zavattini and De Sica, based on the novel of the same name by Alberto Mora ...

'', filmed by

Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...

as ''

Two Women ''Two Women'' ( it, La ciociara , rough literal translation "The Woman from Ciociaria") is a 1960 war drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica from a screenplay by Cesare Zavattini and De Sica, based on the novel of the same name by Alberto ...

'' (1960).

Cédric Kahn Cédric Kahn (; born 17 June 1966) is a French screenwriter, film director and actor. His films include ''L'Ennui'' (1998), based on the Alberto Moravia novel ''Boredom'', and '' Red Lights'' (2004), based on the Georges Simenon novel. His film '' ...

's ''

L'Ennui ''L'Ennui'' ( en, Boredom, italic=yes) is a 1998 erotic drama film directed by Cédric Kahn from a screenplay he co-wrote with Laurence Ferreira Barbosa, based on the 1960 novel ''La noia'' by Alberto Moravia. The film stars Charles Berling, ...

'' (1998) is another version of ''La Noia''. Moravia once remarked that the most important facts of his life had been his illness, a tubercular infection of the bones that confined him to a bed for five years and

Fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

, because they both caused him to suffer and do things he otherwise would not have done. "It is what we are forced to do that forms our character, not what we do of our own free will." Moravia was an atheist. His writing was marked by its factual, cold, precise style, often depicting the malaise of the ''

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

''. It was rooted in the tradition of nineteenth-century narrative, underpinned by high social and cultural awareness. Moravia believed that writers must, if they were to represent reality, "assume a moral position, a clearly conceived political, social, and philosophical attitude" but also that, ultimately, "A writer survives in spite of his beliefs". Between 1959 and 1962 Moravia was president of

PEN International PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internatio ...

, the worldwide association of writers.

Biography

Early years

Alberto Pincherle (the pen name "Moravia" was a surname linked to the family) was born in Via Sgambati in Rome, Italy, to a wealthy middle-class family. His

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish Venetian father, Carlo, was an architect and a painter. His

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Anconitan mother, Teresa Iginia de Marsanich, was of

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

n origin. His family had interesting twists and developed a complex cultural and political character. The brothers Carlo and Nello Rosselli, founders of the anti-fascist

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objective ...

Giustizia e Libertà Giustizia e Libertà (; en, Justice and Freedom) was an Italian anti-fascist resistance movement, active from 1929 to 1945.James D. Wilkinson (1981). ''The Intellectual Resistance Movement in Europe''. Harvard University Press. p. 224. The mov ...

, murdered in France by

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

's order in 1937, were paternal cousins and his maternal uncle,

Augusto De Marsanich Augusto De Marsanich (13 April 1893 – 10 February 1973) was an Italian fascist politician and the second leader of the Italian Social Movement (MSI). Early years De Marsanich was born in Rome. He enlisted in the Italian Army in 1916 and saw ac ...

, was an undersecretary in the

National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The ...

cabinet. Moravia did not finish conventional schooling because, at the age of nine, he contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

of the bone, which confined him to bed for five years. He spent three years at home and two in a sanatorium near Cortina d'Ampezzo, in north-eastern Italy. Moravia was an intelligent boy, and devoted himself to reading books and some of his favourite authors were

Giosuè Carducci Giosuè Alessandro Giuseppe Carducci (; 27 July 1835 – 16 February 1907) was an Italian poet, writer, literary critic and teacher. He was very noticeably influential, and was regarded as the official national poet of modern Italy. In 1906, h ...

, Giovanni Boccaccio,

Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

, Ludovico Ariosto,

Carlo Goldoni Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: * Carlo (name) * Monte Carlo * Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince ...

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...

and

Stéphane Mallarmé Stéphane Mallarmé ( , ; 18 March 1842 – 9 September 1898), pen name of Étienne Mallarmé, was a French poet and critic. He was a major French symbolist poet, and his work anticipated and inspired several revolutionary artistic schools of ...

. He learned French and German and wrote poems in French and Italian. In 1925 at the age of 18, he left the sanatorium and moved to

Bressanone Brixen (, ; it, Bressanone ; lld, Porsenù or ) is a town in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano. Geography First mentioned in 901, Brixen is the third largest city and oldest town in the province, and the artistic and ...

. During the next three years, partly in Bressanone and partly in Rome, he began to write his first novel, ''Gli indifferenti'' (''Time of Indifference''), published in 1929. The novel is a realistic analysis of the moral decadence of a middle-class mother and two of her children. In 1927, Moravia met

Corrado Alvaro Corrado Alvaro (15 April 1895 – 11 June 1956) was an Italian journalist and writer of novels, short stories, screenplays and plays. He often used the '' verismo'' style to describe the hopeless poverty in his native Calabria. His first succe ...

and

Massimo Bontempelli Massimo Bontempelli (12 May 1878 – 21 July 1960) was an Italian poet, playwright, novelist and composer. He was influential in developing and promoting the literary style known as magical realism. Life Massimo Bontempelli was born in Como ...

and started his career as a journalist with the magazine ''900''. The journal published his first short stories, including ''Cortigiana stanca'' (''The Tired Courtesan'' in French as ''Lassitude de courtisane'', 1927), ''Delitto al circolo del tennis'' (''Crime at the Tennis Club'', 1928), ''Il ladro curioso'' (''The Curious Thief'') and ''Apparizione'' (''Apparition'', both 1929).

''Gli indifferenti'' and Fascist ostracism

''Gli indifferenti'' was published at his own expense, costing 5,000

Italian lira The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually ...

. Literary critics described the novel as a noteworthy example of contemporary Italian narrative fiction. The next year, Moravia started collaborating with the newspaper ''

La Stampa ''La Stampa'' (meaning ''The Press'' in English) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Turin, Italy. It is distributed in Italy and other European nations. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy. History and profile The paper was fou ...

'', then edited by author

Curzio Malaparte Curzio Malaparte (; 9 June 1898 – 19 July 1957), born Kurt Erich Suckert, was an Italian writer, filmmaker, war correspondent and diplomat. Malaparte is best known outside Italy due to his works ''Kaputt'' (1944) and ''La pelle'' (1949). The f ...

. In 1933, together with Mario Pannunzio, he founded the literary review magazines ''Caratteri'' (''Characters'') and '' Oggi'' (''Today'') and started writing for the newspaper ''

Gazzetta del Popolo ''Gazzetta del Popolo'' was an Italian daily newspaper founded in Turin, in northern Italy, on 16 June 1848. It ceased publication on 31 December 1983 after 135 years of operation. Italian novelist Alberto Moravia Alberto Moravia ( , ; born A ...

''. The years leading to World War II were difficult for Moravia as an author; the

Fascist regime Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

prohibited reviews of ''Le ambizioni sbagliate'' (1935), seized his novel ''La mascherata'' (''Masquerade'', 1941) and banned ''Agostino'' (''Two Adolescents'', 1941). In 1935 he traveled to the United States to give a lecture series on

Italian literature Italian literature is written in the Italian language, particularly within Italy. It may also refer to literature written by Italians or in other languages spoken in Italy, often languages that are closely related to modern Italian, including ...

. ''L'imbroglio'' (''The Cheat'') was published by

Bompiani Bompiani is an Italian publishing house based in Milan. It was founded in 1929 by Valentino Bompiani. In 1990, Bompiani became part of the RCS MediaGroup. It was sold in 2015 to the Giunti Group. It is widely regarded as one of the leading literar ...

in 1937. To avoid Fascist censorship, Moravia wrote mainly in the surrealist and

allegoric As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...

styles; among the works is ''Il sogno del pigro'' (''The Dream of the Lazy''). The Fascist seizure of the second edition of ''La mascherata'' in 1941, forced him to write under a pseudonym. That same year, he married the novelist

Elsa Morante Elsa Morante (; 18 August 191225 November 1985) was an Italian novelist, poet, translator and children's books author. Her novel '' La storia'' (''History'') is included in the Bokklubben World Library List of 100 Best Books of All Time. Life a ...

, whom he had met in 1936. They lived in Capri, where he wrote ''Agostino''. After the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

of September 8, 1943, Moravia and Morante took refuge in

Fondi Fondi ( la, Fundi; Southern Laziale: ''Fùnn'') is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, Lazio, central Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. I ...

, on the border of

province of Frosinone The Province of Frosinone ( it, Provincia di Frosinone) is a province in the Lazio region of Italy, with 91 ''comuni'' (singular: ''comune''; see Comuni of the Province of Frosinone). Its capital is the city of Frosinone. It has an area of ...

, a region to which fascism had arbitrarily imposed the name "ciociaria"; the experience inspired ''

'' (''The ciociara Woman'', 1957).

Return to Rome and national popularity

In May 1944, after the liberation of Rome, Alberto Moravia returned. He began collaborating with Corrado Alvaro, writing for important newspapers such as ''Il Mondo'' and '' Il Corriere della Sera'', the latter publishing his writing until his death. After the war, his popularity steadily increased, with works such as ''La Romana'' (''The Woman of Rome'', 1947), ''La Disubbidienza'' (''Disobedience'', 1948), ''L'Amore Coniugale e altri racconti'' (''Conjugal Love and other stories'', 1949) and ''Il Conformista'' (''The Conformist'', 1951). In 1952 he won the

Premio Strega The Strega Prize ( it, Premio Strega ) is the most prestigious Italian literary award. It has been awarded annually since 1947 for the best work of prose fiction written in the Italian language by an author of any nationality and first published ...

for ''I Racconti'' and his novels began to be translated abroad and ''La Provinciale'' was adapted to film by

Mario Soldati Mario Soldati (17 November 1906 – 19 June 1999) was an Italian writer and film director. In 1954 he won the Strega Prize for ''Lettere da Capri.'' He directed several works adapted from novels, and worked with leading Italian actresses, su ...

; in 1954

Luigi Zampa Luigi Zampa (2 January 1905 – 16 August 1991) was an Italian film director. Biography Son of a worker, Zampa studied filmmaking from 1932 to 1937 at the Italian film school Centro sperimentale di cinematografia in Rome. He directed several ...

directed ''La Romana'' and in 1955 Gianni Franciolini directed ''I Racconti Romani'' (''The Roman Stories'', 1954) a short collection that won the Marzotto Award. In 1953, Moravia founded the literary magazine ''Nuovi Argomenti'' (''New Arguments''), which featured

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...

among its editors. In the 1950s, he wrote prefaces to works such as

Belli The Belli, also designated Beli or Belaiscos were an ancient pre-Roman Celtic Celtiberian people who lived in the modern Spanish province of Zaragoza from the 3rd Century BC. Origins Roman authors for unknown reasons wrote that the Belli wer ...

's ''100 Sonnets'', Brancati's ''Paolo il Caldo'' and

Stendhal Marie-Henri Beyle (; 23 January 1783 – 23 March 1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal (, ; ), was a 19th-century French writer. Best known for the novels ''Le Rouge et le Noir'' (''The Red and the Black'', 1830) and ''La Chartreuse de P ...

's ''Roman Walks''. From 1957, he also reviewed and criticised cinema for the weekly magazines ''

L'Europeo ''L'Europeo'' was a prominent Italian weekly news magazine launched on 4 November 1945, by the founder-editors Gianni Mazzocchi and Arrigo Benedetti.

'' and ''

L'Espresso ''L'Espresso'' () is an Italian weekly news magazine. It is one of the two most prominent Italian weeklies; the other is '' Panorama''. Since 2022 it has been published by BFC Media. History and profile One of Italy's foremost newsmagazines, ' ...

''. His criticism is collected in the volume ''Al Cinema'' (''At the Cinema'', 1975).

''La noia'' and later life

In 1960, Moravia published ''La Noia'' (''Boredom'' or ''The Empty Canvas''), the story of the troubled sexual relationship between a young, rich painter striving to find sense in his life and an easygoing girl in Rome. Becoming known as one of his most famous novels, it won the

Viareggio Prize The Viareggio Prize ( it, Premio Viareggio, italic=no or ) is an Italian literary prize, first awarded in 1930. Named after the Tuscan city of Viareggio, it was conceived by three friends, , Carlo Salsa and Leonida Rèpaci, to rival the Milanes ...

. An adaptation was filmed by

in 1962. Another adaptation of the book is the basis of

's film ''L'ennui'' (''The Ennui'', 1998). Several films were based on his other novels: in 1960,

adapted ''La Ciociara'', starring

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...

; in 1963

filmed ''Il Disprezzo'' (''

'') and in 1964,

Francesco Maselli Francesco Maselli or Citto Maselli (born 9 December 1930, in Rome) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. He has directed 38 films since 1949. Biography Maselli graduated at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, National Film School ...

filmed ''Gli Indifferenti'' (1964). In 1962, Moravia and Elsa Morante parted, but never divorced. He went to live with the young writer Dacia Maraini and concentrated on theatre. In 1966, he, Maraini and

Enzo Siciliano Enzo Siciliano (27 May 1934 – 9 June 2006) was an Italian writer, playwright, literary critic and intellectual. Siciliano was born in Rome. He was collaborator of Alberto Moravia, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Elsa Morante and many other famous w ...

founded ''Il Porcospino'', which staged works by Moravia, Maraini,

Carlo Emilio Gadda Carlo Emilio Gadda (; November 14, 1893 – May 21, 1973) was an Italian writer and poet. He belongs to the tradition of the language innovators, writers that played with the somewhat stiff standard pre-war Italian language, and added elements o ...

and others. In 1967 Moravia visited China, Japan and

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. In 1971 he published the novel ''Io e lui'' (''I and He'' or ''The Two of Us'') about a screenwriter, his independent penis and the situations to which he thrusts them and the essay ''Poesia e romanzo'' (''Poetry and Novel''). In 1972 he went to Africa, which inspired his work ''A quale tribù appartieni?'' (''Which Tribe Do You Belong To?''), published in the same year. His 1982 trip to Japan, including a visit to

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

, inspired a series of articles for ''L'Espresso'' magazine about the

atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

. The same theme is in the novel ''L'Uomo che Guarda'' (''The Man Who Looks'', 1985) and the essay ''L'Inverno Nucleare'' (''The Nuclear Winter''), including interviews with some contemporary principal scientists and politicians. The short story collection, ''La Cosa e altri racconti'' (''The Thing and Other Stories''), was dedicated to Carmen Llera, his new companion (forty-five years his junior), whom he married in 1986, after Morante's death in November 1985. In 1984, Moravia was elected to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

as member from the

Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) was a communist political party in Italy. The PCI was founded as ''Communist Party of Italy'' on 21 January 1921 in Livorno by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI). ...

. His experiences at

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, which ended in 1988, are recounted in ''Il Diario Europeo'' (''The European Diary''). In 1985 he won the title of European Personality. Moravia was a perennial contender to the

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

, having been nominated 13 times between 1949 and 1965. In September 1990, Alberto Moravia was found dead in the bathroom of his

Lungotevere Lungotevere (Italian for ''Tiber Waterfront'') is an alley or boulevard running along the river Tiber within the city of Rome. The building of the Lungoteveres required the demolition of the former edifices along the river banks and the constr ...

apartment, in Rome. In that year, Bompiani published his autobiography, ''Vita di Moravia'' (''Life of Moravia'').

Themes and literary style

Moral aridity, the hypocrisy of contemporary life and the inability of people to find happiness in traditional ways such as love and marriage are the regnant themes in the works of Alberto Moravia. Usually, these conditions are pathologically typical of middle-class life; marriage is the target of works such as ''Disobedience'' and ''L'amore coniugale'' (''Conjugal Love'', 1947). Alienation is the theme in works such as ''Il disprezzo'' (''Contempt'' or ''A Ghost at Noon'', 1954) and ''La noia'' (''The Empty Canvas'') from the 1950s, despite observation from a rational-realistic perspective. Political themes are often present; an example is ''La Romana'' (''The Woman of Rome'', 1947), the story of a prostitute entangled with the Fascist regime and with a network of conspirators. The extreme sexual realism in ''La noia'' (''The Empty Canvas'', 1960) introduced the psychologically experimental works of the 1970s. Moravia's writing style was highly regarded for being extremely stark and unadorned, characterised by elementary, common words in an elaborate syntax. A complex mood is established by mixing a proposition constituting the description of a single psychological observation mixed with another such proposition. In the later novels, the inner monologue is prominent.

Works

* ''La cortigiana stanca'' (1927) (''Tired Courtesan'', trans. Bernard Wall (1954)) * ''

'' (1929) (''The Time of Indifference'', trans. Angus Davidson (1953), Tami Calliope (2000)) * ''Inverno di malato'' (1930) (''A Sick Boy's Winter'', trans. Baptista Gilliat Smith (1954)) * ''Le ambizioni sbagliate'' (1935) * ''La bella vita'' (1935) * ''L'imbroglio'' (1937) (''The Imbroglio'', trans. Bernard Wall (1954)) * ''I sogni del pigro'' (1940) * ''La caduta'' (1940) * ''La mascherata'' (1941) (''The Fancy Dress Party'', trans. Angus Davidson (1947)) * ''La cetonia'' (1943) * ''L'amante infelice'' (1943) (''The Unfortunate Lover'', trans. Bernard Wall (1954)) * ''Agostino'' (1945) (''Agostino'', trans. Beryl de Zoete (1947), Michael F. Moore (2014)) * ''L'epidemia'' (1944), short stories * ''Ritorno al mare'' (1945) (''Back to the Sea'', trans. Bernard Wall (1954)) * ''L'ufficiale inglese'' (1946) (''The English Officer'', trans. Bernard Wall (1954)) * ''La romana'' (1947) (''

The Woman of Rome ''The Woman from Rome'' ( it, La romana) is a 1947 novel by Alberto Moravia about the intersecting lives of many characters, chief among them a prostitute (whose mother is also a prostitute) and an idealistic intellectual who, after an interrogat ...

'', trans. Lydia Holland (1949), Tami Calliope (1999)) * ''L'amore coniugale'' (1947) (''

Conjugal Love Conjugal love refers to love in a conjugal relationship, that is, in a marriage, since the word "conjugal" is defined as related to the relationship between married partners. Marriage does not necessarily involve love between the partners. Chris ...

: a novel'', trans. Angus Davidson (1951), Marina Harss (2007)) * ''Il conformista'' (1947) (''

'', trans. Angus Davidson (1951), Tami Calliope (1999)) * ''La disubbidienza'' (1950) (''Disobedience'', trans. Beryl de Zoete (1952)) * ''Luna di miele, sole di fiele'' (1952) (''Bitter Honeymoon'', trans.

Frances Frenaye Frances Frenaye (1908-1996) was an American translator of French and Italian literature.Eric Pace ''The New York Times'', April 15, 1998. She translated work by writers including Balzac, Carlo Levi, Ignazio Silone and Elie Wiesel. Works * Natal ...

(1954)) * ''

Racconti romani ''Racconti romani'' (''Roman Tales'') is a series of sixty-one short stories written by the Italian author, Alberto Moravia. Written and published initially in the Italian newspaper, '' Il Corriere della Sera'', they were published as a collectio ...

'' (1954) (''Roman Tales'', trans. Angus Davidson (1954)) * ''

'' (1954) (''Contempt'' or ''A Ghost at Noon'', trans. Angus Davidson (1954)) * ''La ciociara'' (1957) (''

'', trans. Angus Davidson (1958)) * ''

Beatrice Cenci Beatrice Cenci (; 6 February 157711 September 1599) was a Roman noblewoman who murdered her father, Count Francesco Cenci. She was beheaded in 1599 after a lurid murder trial in Rome that gave rise to an enduring legend about her. Life Beatri ...

'' (1958) (''Beatrice Cenci'', trans. Angus Davidson (1965)), a play * ''Nuovi racconti romani'' (1959) (''More Roman Tales'', trans. Angus Davidson (1963)) * ''La noia'' (1960) (''The Empty Canvas'' or ''Boredom'', trans. Angus Davidson (1961)) * ''L'automa'' (1962) (''The Fetish'', trans. Angus Davidson (1964)), short stories * ''L'uomo come fine e altri saggi'' (1964) (''Man as an End: A Defense of Humanism: Literary, Social and Political Essays'', trans. Bernard Wall (1965)) * ''L'attenzione'' (1965) (''The Lie'', trans. Angus Davidson (1966)) * ''Una cosa è una cosa'' (1967) (''Command, and I Will Obey You'', trans. Angus Davidson (1969)), short stories * ''La rivoluzione culturale in Cina. Ovvero il Convitato di pietra'' (1967) (''The Red Book and the Great Wall: An Impression of Mao's China'', trans. Ronald Strom (1968)) * ''Il dio Kurt'' (1969), drama * ''La vita è gioco'' (1969) * ''Il paradiso'' (1970) * ''Io e lui'' (1971) (''The Two of Us'', trans. Angus Davidson (1972)) * ''A quale tribù appartieni'' (1972) (''Which Tribe Do You Belong To?'', trans. Angus Davidson (1974)), "collection of articles from 10 years' junketing in Africa"Review
by Paul Theroux * ''Un'altra vita'' (1973) (''Lady Godiva and other stories'', trans. Angus Davidson (1975)) * ''Al cinema'' (1975), essays * ''Boh'' 1976 (''The Voice of the Sea and other stories'', trans. Angus Davidson (1978)) * ''La vita interiore'' (1978) (''Time of Desecration'', trans. Angus Davidson (1980)) * ''Impegno controvoglia'' (1980) * ''1934'' (1982), (''1934'', trans.

William Weaver William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

(1983)), a novel * ''La cosa e altri racconti'' (1983) (''Erotic Tales'', trans.

Tim Parks Timothy Harold Parks (born 19 December 1954) is a British novelist, translator, author and professor of literature. Career He is the author of eighteen novels (notably ''Europa'', which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1997). His first ...

(1985)) * ''L'uomo che guarda'' (1985) (''The Voyeur'', trans. Tim Parks (1986)) * ''L'inverno nucleare'' (1986), essays and interviews * ''Il viaggio a Roma'' (1988) (''Journey to Rome'', trans. Tim Parks (1989)) * ''La villa del venerdì e altri racconti'' (1990)

Reviews

* Kelman, James (1980), review of ''Desecration'', in ''

Cencrastus ''Cencrastus'' was a magazine devoted to Scottish and international literature, arts and affairs, founded after the Referendum of 1979 by students, mainly of Scottish literature at Edinburgh University, and with support from Cairns Craig, then a ...

'' No. 4, Winter 1980–81, p. 49,