Natalia Ginzburg
Encyclopedia
Natalia Ginzburg née Levi (naˈtaːlja ˈdʒintsburg) (July 14, 1916, Palermo
— October 7, 1991, Rome
) was an award-winning Italian
author whose work explored family relationships, politics during and after the Fascist years and World War II
, and philosophy
. She wrote novels, short stories and essays, for which she received the Strega Prize
and Bagutta Prize
. Most of her works were also translated into English and published in the United Kingdom and United States.
, Sicily
, Natalia Levi spent most of her youth in Turin
with her family; her father took a position with the University of Turin
in 1919. He was Catholic
. Her father, Giuseppe Levi, a renowned Italian histologist, was born into a Jewish Italian family. Her parents raised Natalia and her two brothers as atheists. Their home was a center of cultural life, as her parents invited intellectuals, activists and industrialists. At age 17 Natalia published her first story, I Bambini, in 1933 in the magazine Solaria.
, and they had three children together. Their son Carlo Ginzburg
became a distinguished historian
.
Although Natalia Ginzburg was able to live relatively free of harassment during World War II
, her husband was forced to spend 1941-1943 in internal exile
in a poor village in Abruzzo
because of his anti-Fascist activities. She and their children lived most of the time with him. Opponents of the Fascist regime, she and her husband secretly went to Rome and edited an anti-Fascist newspaper, until Leone Ginzburg was arrested. He died in 1944 after suffering severe torture in jail.
In 1950, Ginzburg married again, to Gabriele Baldini, a scholar of English literature
. They lived in Rome. He died in 1969.
Alessandra Tornimparte in 1942, during Fascist Italy
's most anti-Semitic
period.
Ginzburg spent much of the 1940s working for the publisher Einaudi
in Turin in addition to her creative writing. They published some of the leading figures of postwar Italy, including Carlo Levi
, Primo Levi
, Cesare Pavese
and Italo Calvino
. Ginzburg's second novel was published in 1947.
Her and her husband's experience during the war altered her perception of her identification as a Jew, and she thought deeply about the questions aroused by the war and the Holocaust, dealing with them in fiction and essays. She converted to Catholicism, arousing controversy among her circle, because she believed that Christ was a persecuted Jew.
Beginning in 1950, when Ginzburg married again and moved to Rome, she entered the most prolific period of her literary career. During the next 20 years, she published most of the works for which she is best known. They were deeply involved in the cultural life of the city.
In 1964 she played the role of Mary of Bethany in Pier Paolo Pasolini
's controversial The Gospel According to St. Matthew
.
Natalia Ginzburg was politically involved throughout her life as an activist
and polemic
ist. Like many prominent anti-Fascists, for a time she belonged to the Italian Communist Party
. She was elected to the Italian Parliament as an Independent in 1983.
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
— October 7, 1991, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
) was an award-winning Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
author whose work explored family relationships, politics during and after the Fascist years and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. She wrote novels, short stories and essays, for which she received the Strega Prize
Strega Prize
The Strega Prize is the most prestigious Italian literary award. It has been awarded annually since 1947 for the best work of prose fiction by an Italian author and first published between 1 May of the previous year and 30 April...
and Bagutta Prize
Bagutta Prize
The Bagutta Prize is an Italian literary prize.It originated in Milan's Bagutta Ristorante. The writer Riccardo Bacchelli discovered the restaurant and soon he had numerous friends who would dine together and discuss books. On 11 November 1927 they decided to create a literary prize and named it...
. Most of her works were also translated into English and published in the United Kingdom and United States.
Early life and education
Born in PalermoPalermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, Natalia Levi spent most of her youth in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
with her family; her father took a position with the University of Turin
University of Turin
The University of Turin is a university in the city of Turin in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy...
in 1919. He was Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
. Her father, Giuseppe Levi, a renowned Italian histologist, was born into a Jewish Italian family. Her parents raised Natalia and her two brothers as atheists. Their home was a center of cultural life, as her parents invited intellectuals, activists and industrialists. At age 17 Natalia published her first story, I Bambini, in 1933 in the magazine Solaria.
Marriage and family
In 1938, Natalia married Leone GinzburgLeone Ginzburg
Leone Ginzburg was an Italian editor, writer, journalist and teacher, as well as an important anti-fascist political activist and a hero of the resistance movement...
, and they had three children together. Their son Carlo Ginzburg
Carlo Ginzburg
Carlo Ginzburg is a noted historian and proponent of the field of microhistory. He is best known for his Il formaggio e I vermi which examined the beliefs of an Italian heretic, Menocchio, from Montereale Valcellina.- Biography :The son of Natalia Ginzburg and Leone Ginzburg, he was born...
became a distinguished historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
.
Although Natalia Ginzburg was able to live relatively free of harassment during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, her husband was forced to spend 1941-1943 in internal exile
Internal Exile
Internal Exile was Fish's second solo album after leaving Marillion in 1988. The album, released 28 October 1991, was inspired by the singer's past, his own personal problems and his troubled experiences with his previous record label EMI.The album's music reflects Fish's indulgence in the vast...
in a poor village in Abruzzo
Abruzzo
Abruzzo is a region in Italy, its western border lying less than due east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east, and the Adriatic Sea to the east...
because of his anti-Fascist activities. She and their children lived most of the time with him. Opponents of the Fascist regime, she and her husband secretly went to Rome and edited an anti-Fascist newspaper, until Leone Ginzburg was arrested. He died in 1944 after suffering severe torture in jail.
In 1950, Ginzburg married again, to Gabriele Baldini, a scholar of English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
. They lived in Rome. He died in 1969.
Career
After her marriage, she used the name Natalia Ginzburg (occasionally spelled "Ginzberg") on most subsequent publications. Her first novel was published under the pseudonymPseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Alessandra Tornimparte in 1942, during Fascist Italy
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
's most anti-Semitic
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
period.
Ginzburg spent much of the 1940s working for the publisher Einaudi
Einaudi
Einaudi may refer to;*Giulio Einaudi , an Italian publisher**Giulio Einaudi editore, now an imprint of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore*Luigi Einaudi , an Italian politician*His son Mario Einaudi , an Italian political scientist...
in Turin in addition to her creative writing. They published some of the leading figures of postwar Italy, including Carlo Levi
Carlo Levi
Dr. Carlo Levi was an Italian-Jewish painter, writer, activist, anti-fascist, and doctor.He is best known for his book Cristo si è fermato a Eboli , published in 1945, a memoir of his time spent in exile in Lucania, Italy, after being arrested in connection with his political activism...
, Primo Levi
Primo Levi
Primo Michele Levi was an Italian Jewish chemist and writer. He was the author of two novels and several collections of short stories, essays, and poems, but is best known for If This Is a Man, his account of the year he spent as a prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland...
, Cesare Pavese
Cesare Pavese
Cesare Pavese was an Italian poet, novelist, literary critic and translator; he is widely considered among the major authors of the 20th century in his home country.- Early life and education :...
and Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino was an Italian journalist and writer of short stories and novels. His best known works include the Our Ancestors trilogy , the Cosmicomics collection of short stories , and the novels Invisible Cities and If on a winter's night a traveler .Lionised in Britain and the United States,...
. Ginzburg's second novel was published in 1947.
Her and her husband's experience during the war altered her perception of her identification as a Jew, and she thought deeply about the questions aroused by the war and the Holocaust, dealing with them in fiction and essays. She converted to Catholicism, arousing controversy among her circle, because she believed that Christ was a persecuted Jew.
Beginning in 1950, when Ginzburg married again and moved to Rome, she entered the most prolific period of her literary career. During the next 20 years, she published most of the works for which she is best known. They were deeply involved in the cultural life of the city.
In 1964 she played the role of Mary of Bethany in Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini was an Italian film director, poet, writer, and intellectual. Pasolini distinguished himself as a poet, journalist, philosopher, linguist, novelist, playwright, filmmaker, newspaper and magazine columnist, actor, painter and political figure...
's controversial The Gospel According to St. Matthew
The Gospel According to St. Matthew (film)
The Gospel According to St. Matthew is a 1964 Italian film directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini. It is a retelling of the story of Jesus Christ, from the Nativity through the Resurrection....
.
Natalia Ginzburg was politically involved throughout her life as an activist
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
and polemic
Polemic
A polemic is a variety of arguments or controversies made against one opinion, doctrine, or person. Other variations of argument are debate and discussion...
ist. Like many prominent anti-Fascists, for a time she belonged to the Italian Communist Party
Italian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party 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 . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played...
. She was elected to the Italian Parliament as an Independent in 1983.
Literary works
- La strada che va in città (1942)
- È stato così (1947; The Dry Heart 1949)
- Tutti i nostri ieri (1952; A Light for Fools 1956 and All our yesterdays)
- Valentino (1957)
- Sagittario (1957)
- Le voci della sera (1961; Voices in the Evening 1963)
- Le piccole virtù (1962);The Little Virtues 1985)
- Lessico famigliare (1963; Family Sayings 1967)
- Mai devi domandarmi (1970; Never must you ask me 1973)
- Caro Michele (1973)
- Vita immaginaria (1974)
- La famiglia Manzoni (1983)
- La città e la casa (1984; The City and the House 1987)
Dramatic works
- Ti ho sposato per allegria (1965)
- L'InserzioneThe AdvertisementThe Advertisement is a theatre play by Italian writer Natalia Ginzburg, first performed in Great Britain by the National Theatre in 1968.- Plot summary :...
(1969) (translated to English as The Advertisement)
Legacy and honors
- 1963, Strega PrizeStrega PrizeThe Strega Prize is the most prestigious Italian literary award. It has been awarded annually since 1947 for the best work of prose fiction by an Italian author and first published between 1 May of the previous year and 30 April...
for Lessico famigliare - 1984, Bagutta PrizeBagutta PrizeThe Bagutta Prize is an Italian literary prize.It originated in Milan's Bagutta Ristorante. The writer Riccardo Bacchelli discovered the restaurant and soon he had numerous friends who would dine together and discuss books. On 11 November 1927 they decided to create a literary prize and named it...
for La famiglia Manzoni
External links
- Akshay Ahuja, Review of The Little Virtues, The Occasional Review blog