Antirisorgimento in the works of F. De Roberto, L. Pirandello and G. Tomasi di Lampedusca

This thesis looks at the ltalian antirisorgimento by way of examining three important Sicilian novels: Viceroy (1 viceré) by Federico De Roberto from 1894, The otd and the Young (1 vecchi e i giovani) by Luigi Pirandello published in 1913 and The Leopard (ll gattopardo) by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa from 1958. In the initial chapter, historical and political development of risorgimental and postrisorgimental Italy is outlined, from the 1848 revolutions until the end of the 19th century. The situation in the southem part of the country is emphasized in particular, as the change of regime in 1861 and the unification ofItaly did not bring many positive aspects there. Next chapter discusses the relation of our three authors to the period in which they were composing. We were interested in the ways the epoch influenced them and how their personal experience was reflected in the analyzed texts. Further works by the writers, if relevant to the antirisorgimento, are mentioned too. The main part of the thesis represents an analysis of motifs and topics the novels have in common and how these reflect the antirisorgimento. lt also takes into account a shift in perspectives of individual authors - there is a gap of more than sixty years between the publication of the first and the third novel. We also looked at the..