Anna Maria Ortese, L'iguana [The Iguana]

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Anna Maria Ortese’s first novel,

L’iguana

[

The Iguana

], is her third major publication and the one that best represents her new artistic maturity after the magic realism of her literary debut,

Angelici dolori

[

Angelic Pains

] (1937), and the neorealism of her second short story collection,

Il mare non bagna Napoli

[

The Bay is not Naples

] (1953). Although some of the short stories in her Neapolitan reportage, particularly “Un paio di occhiali” [

A Pair of Glasses

] and “Interno famigliare” [

“Family Interior”

], had given Ortese much visibility and appreciation among readers, other ones, such as “Il silenzio della ragione” [

The Silence of Reason

], where she openly criticized several Neapolitans leftist intellectuals who had been her friends, inspired considerable…

1879 words

Citation: Seno, Cosetta. "L'iguana". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 December 2018 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38883, accessed 26 November 2024.]

38883 L'iguana 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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