Article révisé par les pairs
| Résumé : | Three novels (Zola's Rome, Pirandello's I vecchi e i giovani, De Roberto's L'imperio), differently dealing with the political and moral crisis of post-Unitarian Italy, present however a similar young rebel and disenchanted character, dreaming of destroying by organized attacks in the capital city (in Rome), the parliament (in I vecchi e i giovani), or the entire human race (in L’imperio, where the presence of thinkers like Schopenhauer and Hartmann is traceable), as a revenge for the shameful present. In Borgese's Rubè, which is set two decades after, a similar role of "exterminating angel" conveys his destructive will in actual violence, by participating as "ardito" in the Great War, and then in the fascist squadrons which get ready for seizing the power. The author of this paper highlights the points such four characters have in common, which range from a dark desire of destruction to an ambiguous aim of renovation. |
