Dacia Maraini
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Dacia Maraini (; born November 13, 1936) is an Italian writer. Maraini's work focuses on women's issues, and she has written numerous plays and novels. She has won awards for her work, including the Formentor Prize for ''L'età del malessere'' (1963); the Fregene Prize for ''Isolina'' (1985); the
Premio Campiello The ''Premio Campiello'' is an annual Italian literary prize. A jury of literary experts (''giuria di letterati'' in Italian) identifies books published during the year and, in a public hearing, selects five of those as finalists. These books ...
and Book of the Year Award for ''La lunga vita di Marianna Ucrìa'' (1990); and the Premio Strega for ''Buio'' (1999). In 2013, Irish Braschi's biographical documentary ''I Was Born Travelling'' told the story of her life, focusing in particular on her imprisonment in a concentration camp in Japan during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and the journeys she made around the world with her partner
Alberto Moravia Alberto Pincherle (; 28 November 1907 – 26 September 1990), known by his pseudonym Alberto Moravia ( , ), was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation and existentialism. Moravia i ...
and close friends
Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, film director, writer, actor and playwright. He is considered one of the defining public intellectuals in 20th-century Italian history, influential both as an artist ...
and
Maria Callas Maria Callas (born Maria Anna Cecilia Sophia Kalogeropoulos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised ...
.


Life and career


Early life

Maraini was born in
Fiesole Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. ...
, Tuscany. She is the daughter of Sicilian Princess Topazia Alliata di Salaparuta, an artist and art dealer, and of Fosco Maraini, a Florentine
ethnologist Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). Scien ...
and mountaineer of mixed Ticinese, English and Polish background who wrote in particular on
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
and Japan. When she was a child, her family moved to Japan in 1938 to escape
Fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...
. They were interned in a Japanese
concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...
in
Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...
from 1943 to 1946 for refusing to recognize Mussolini's Republic of Salò, allied with the
Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...
. After the war, the family returned to Italy and lived in
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
with her mother's family in the town of Bagheria, province of Palermo. Not long after, her parents separated and her father moved to
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
where, some years later, at the age of eighteen, Maraini joined him. Maraini's work focuses on women's issues, and she has written numerous plays and novels. She was educated at Istituto Statale della Ss. Annunziata, a prestigious and privileged boarding school in
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
. Much of Maraini's writing was affected by her parents and the roles they played in her life. Maraini grew up with an adventurous father and a mother who was always burdened and, in addition to this, read books in which only men would go on quests and journeys. She states that she "became upset by the fact that no great journey could be taken by a woman..." She married Lucio Pozzi, a
Milanese Milanese (endonym in traditional orthography , ) is the central variety of the Western dialect of the Lombard language spoken in Milan, the rest of its metropolitan city, and the northernmost part of the province of Pavia. Milanese, due to t ...
painter, but they separated after four years. She then became
Alberto Moravia Alberto Pincherle (; 28 November 1907 – 26 September 1990), known by his pseudonym Alberto Moravia ( , ), was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation and existentialism. Moravia i ...
's companion, living with him from 1962 until 1983.


Career

In 1966, Maraini, Moravia and Enzo Siciliano founded the ''del Porcospino'' ("Porcupine") theatrical company which had as its mission the production of new Italian plays. They included her own ''La famiglia normale'', Moravia's ''L'intervista'', Siciliano's ''Tazza'', and works by Carlo Emilio Gadda, Goffredo Parise, J. Rodolfo Wilcock and Tornabuoni. In 1971 he signed the Open letter to L'Espresso on the Pinelli case against the police officer
Luigi Calabresi Luigi Calabresi (14 November 1937 – 17 May 1972) was an Italian ''Polizia di Stato'' officer in Milan. Responsible for investigating far-left political movements, Calabresi was assassinated in 1972 by members of ''Lotta Continua'', who blamed ...
. In 1973, she helped to found the ''Teatro della Maddalena'' which was run by women only. Maraini directed ''L'amore coniugale'' from 1969 to 1973, her only feature film. In 1976 Maraini directed the films ''Mio padre amore mio'' ("My father my love"), ''Aborto: parlano le donne'' ("Abortion: women speak out"), ''Le ragazze di Capoverde'' ("The young women of Capoverde") and ''Ritratti di donne africane'' ("Portraits of African Women"), a three part series. Maraini's writing in film includes the screenplay for '' Love Problems'' (1968), the screenplay for '' Kill the Fatted Calf and Roast It'' (1970), a script collaboration for ''
Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition () ...
'' (1974), the documentary ''Aborto: Parlano le donne'' (1976), the screenplay for the TV Movie documentary ''Abrami in Africa'' (1976), the TV series documentary ''Ritratti di donne africane'' (1977), the screenplay for '' The Story of Piera'' (1983), and the screenplay for ''La bocca'' (1990).“Dacia Maraini.” IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web April 21, 2014. . Maraini has begun acting, recently appearing in ''Io sono nata viaggiando'' (2013) and narrating ''Caro Paolo'' (2013). She also appeared as herself in ''The Many Women of Fassbinder'' (1997), ''Midnight Journal'' (1990), ''Sophia: Ieri, oggi, domani'' (2007), ''Kulturzeit'' (2012), and ''Tutte le storie di Piera'' (2013).


Later life

Maraini is a prolific and well-known writer who continues to produce works today. Her most recent novel, ''Vita mia: Giappone, 1943. Memorie di una bambina italiana in un campo di prigionia'', was published in 2023.


Relationship with Italy

In an interview with author Monica Seger, Dacia Maraini stated that, despite her attachment to Italy and its culture, she does not feel like a cultural ambassador. Very often, she tries to analyze her country critically, since being able to view the world through critical eyes is one of an intellectual's prime duties. Her criticism is based on the expectations she has of her country; the more intellectuals try to be critical of their country, the more they want to see it function well. As an intellectual, Maraini tries "to illuminate, to persuade other people of what could be changed in a country that has possibility, a great country, a country of great people that have done great things" because she wants "to persuade Italians that heycan do better".


Writing and travelling

Furthermore, the interview focuses on Maraini's meaning of being a writer and a critic. For instance, her book, ''La Seduzione dell'altrove'', is very significant because it outlines her feelings towards her work. According to her, writing and travelling are both forms of illness and therapy. They are an illness because they are stressful and tiring but a therapy because they give her an opportunity to "look from afar and perhaps see things better".


Relationship between the theatre and public

When discussing the importance of the relationship between her books and plays with the public, according to Maraini, the relationship with the public is more important in the theatre because, differently from books, plays deal with the collective and social aspects. While a novel is a more personal relationship with a single reader, plays focus on the live public that can be participating or not. Also, differently, it is easier to feel whether the public is participating or not compared to a book.


Work

''Bagheria'' (1993) is Maraini's only autobiographical work to date. Maraini's works have a general pattern to which they abide; a series of short stories and novels that reflect her "prefeminist stage" are characterized by a sense of alienation, total disorientation, and the need for self-assentation through sexuality. Maraini's "transitional stage," best characterized by her novel, ''A memoria,'' demonstrates a tone shifting from inaction to an active search for innovative expression. Maraini's subsequent and more progressive novels, such as Donna in guerra (Woman at War), in which her female characters break free of traditional gender roles and explore their sexuality and social activism, reflect Maraini's involvement in the feminist movement during the late sixties and early seventies.


Themes

Many reoccurring themes evident in Maraini's work are: personal freedom for women, exposing the use and abuse of power and its effects on women, women breaking free of traditional gender roles to explore their sexuality and social activism, the silencing of women in society and their appearance in the fashion-system, the seclusion and isolation of women as a result of women seeking their independence and freedom, motherhood as a form of confinement for women, and thus abortion as their only option, violence against and rape of women, women breaking free from being seen as sex objects, and characters' experience with homosexuality, pedophilia, and group sex.


Maraini and feminism

Although Maraini states she is a feminist only in the fact that she is always on the side of women, much of Maraini's work has been classified as feminist. The nature of Maraini's work evolves in line with women's changing position in Italian society and exposes the use and abuse of power and its effects on women. Maraini's progressive works helped change the general impression that women should solely fulfil domestic roles. Dacia Maraini underwent "a process of evolution in ideology" divided into two forms; one that outlines the individual's close relationships with reality and the other based on motivation to further the cause of women's rights. According to writers such as Pallotta, a series of short stories and novels reflected Maraini's prefeminist stage. The literary works include ''La vacanza'' (The Vacation, 1962), ''L'età del malessere'' (1963). Her pre-feminist stage is characterized by a sense of alienation, total disorientation and the need for self-assentation through sexuality. Pallotta states "social and psychological disorientation srooted in a passive consciousness that refuses to come to terms with reality". The transitional stage is characterized by the need to search for new modes of literary expression. These stages led to a feminist viewpoint that reflects a feminist awareness. Feminist novels include ''A memoria'' and ''Donna in Guerra''. These novels are very significant and are a representation of the Italian Feminist Movement of 1968. The importance of these two works is the research of the protagonists' "total unity." This total unity can be considered part of the constituent stage of her literary expression of feminism.


Awards and honours

Maraini has garnered many awards for her work, including the International Formentor Prize (1963) for ''L'età del malessere''; the Premio Fregene (1985), for ''Isolina''; the Premio Campiello (1990) for "La lunga vita di Marianna Ucria"; and the Agrigento, Brancanti Zafferana, & Citta di Salerno (1997) and the Premio Strega (1999) for ''Buio.'' She also won the Premio Napoli & Sibilla Aleramo prize (1994) for "Voci"; the Premio Mediterraneo and the Premio Citta di Penne for "Viaggiando con passo di volpe"; the Sitges International Prize in Spain; and the Premio Candcni, the Italian Premio Riccione; and she was both a finalist for the Man Booker International Prize and a nominee for the
Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...
(2012).


List of works


Italian original release

* ''La vacanza'' (1963) * ''L'età del malessere'' (1963, winner of Formentor Prize; also published as ''The Age of Malaise''–) * ''"Il Manifesto"'' (1972) * ''Memorie di una ladra'' (1973) * ''Short Play'' (1973, in ''Wicked Women Revue''; presented by
Westbeth Playwrights Feminist Collective The Westbeth Playwrights Feminist Collective was a group of professional women playwrights in New York active from 1971 to 1975. They wrote and produced feminist plays and were one of the first feminist theatre groups in the United States to do so ...
, USA) * ''Donne mie'' (1974, poetry) * ''Mio marito'' (1974, 17 short stories) * ''Donna in guerra'' (1975) * ''Maria Stuarda'' (1975, theater) * ''Dialogo di una prostituta col suo cliente'' (1978, theater) * ''Mangiami pure'' (1978, poetry) * ''Stravaganza'' (1978) * ''Isolina'' (1985, winner of Premio Fregene) * ''La lunga vita di Marianna Ucrìa'' (1990, awarded
Premio Campiello The ''Premio Campiello'' is an annual Italian literary prize. A jury of literary experts (''giuria di letterati'' in Italian) identifies books published during the year and, in a public hearing, selects five of those as finalists. These books ...
) * ''Viaggiando con passo di volpe: Poesie, 1983–1991'' (1991, winner of Mediterraneo Prize and Città delle penne) * ''Veronica, meretrice e scrittora'' (1991, theater) * ''Bagheria'' (1993) * ''Voci'' (1994) * ''Dolce per sé'' (1997) * ''Se amando troppo'' (1998) * ''Buio'' (1999, 12 crime stories, winner of Premio Strega) * ''Fare teatro (1966–2000)'' (2000, collection of plays) * ''Veronica, meretrice e scrittora; La terza moglie di Mayer; Camille'' (2001, 3 plays) * ''Colomba'' (2004) * ''Il treno dell'ultima notte'' (2008) * " La ragazza di via Maqueda" (2009) *''La grande festa'' (2011) *''L'amore rubato'' (2012 – ) *''Chiara d'Assisi: Elogio della disobbedienza'' (2013) * ''La bambina e il sognatore'' (2015) * ''La mia vita, le mie battaglie'' (2015) * ''Onda Marina e il Drago Spento'' (2019; illustrations by Simone Angelini – ) * ''Sguardo a Oriente'' (2022 – ) * ''Vita mia'' (2023 – )


In translation to English

* * * (in ''Aphra: The Feminist Literary Magazine'', 1972–73) * * * * * * * * * * * *


Featured in

* (1994)''Plays by Mediterranean Women''


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maraini, Dacia 1936 births Living people People from Fiesole Strega Prize winners Italian women journalists Italian women novelists Premio Campiello winners Italian women screenwriters Italian film directors Italian women film directors Italian women dramatists and playwrights Italian women poets