The critique of national identity in the novels of mario rigoni stern

Abstract

This article looks at Mario Rigoni Stern's critique, in the novel Storia di Tönle (1978), of Italian nationalism and Irredentism in the period from unification until World War I, and its disastrous consequences for the cultural differences and physical survival of a small border community. It also examines his deconstruction in Le stagioni di Giacomo (1998), against the backdrop of an ancient rural culture, of the myths of Italian identity propagandised by Fascism. The article also traces the genesis of Rigoni Stern's position on identity to his personal and community background, and examines its literary emergence in his first novel, Il sergente nella neve (1953). © 2002 Forum for Modern Language Studies.