"La Lupa" is a short story by
Sicilian writer
Giovanni Verga
Giovanni Carmelo Verga di Fontanabianca (; 2 September 1840 – 27 January 1922) was an Italian realist ('' verista'') writer, best known for his depictions of life in his native Sicily, especially the short story and later play ''Cavalleria ...
, which has been translated a
"The She-Wolf" It was published as part of a collection of short stories, ''Vita dei Campi'' (''Rural Life''), in 1880. The story is about a beautiful woman called ''Gna Pina'', called ''La Lupa'' (''the she-wolf'') because of her attitude towards men. She had a daughter, called ''Maricchia'', who was old enough to be married, yet nobody wanted her because of her mother's behaviour. ''La Lupa'' falls in love with a man, ''Nanni'', who refuses her and says that he wants her daughter. She then makes her daughter marry him, so that she can always have him near. ''La Lupa'' repeatedly seduces ''Nanni'', with her daughter's knowledge, and the story ends with ''Nanni'' approaching ''Gna Pina'' with an axe.
Novellas
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