Int tii ma attiioonnss of i be errttyy (1958). Sel l ec ctteedd Essays, 19 13943 -^ 1 -9 1 4 94 3 3 ( (1962). the last t pre--f f emi inniisstt generation: women without Seve ennttyy Let ttt ers s (1965). On Science, , Neces sssiittyy and the power, wit t hout t theory, of ftteenn aware of f thei irr impotence Gat t eway to God (1974). The Si i mo onnee Wei ilI Reader ing but t also tryi i ng to make a life of f it. Thus the last t An Ant thhoo lo lo ggyy (1986). last of the women. . " One feels that the last two words Terence Dawson might be enclosed in their own quotat tii on marks. Wel l do onn 's best work is less didactic than it is moral; it seeks less to draw a lesson than to depict t the truth. Readers have sensed a distance between her fictional practice and the strident t moralism that mars other Fay Weldon 1933- : (1957). Oppre viewpoint. She has wri en that she belongs to (1958). Sel the last pre- generation: women without (1965). On Science, power, wit theory, of aware of thei impotence (1970). and oppressi angry, frust and despair- ing but also tryi ng to make a life of it. Thus the last (1977). Lect (197'8). Si words of are "We are the femini writing. Weldon has acknowl d the strong, even lopsided, moral intention in her fiction. Born September 1933, Alvechurch, She has admitted that she intentional y rounds out Worcestershire, England her female characters more fully than her male char- Genre(s): novel, short story, play, radio and televison acters: "I just make [male characters] behave, talk, and drama, scholarship I don' t add any justifi for their behaviour.

doi:10.4324/9781315050898-242

Chapter

Int tii ma attiioonnss of i be errttyy (1958). Sel l ec ctteedd Essays, 19 13943 -^ 1 -9 1 4 94 3 3 ( (1962). the last t pre--f f emi inniisstt generation: women without Seve ennttyy Let ttt ers s (1965). On Science, , Neces sssiittyy and the power, wit t hout t theory, of ftteenn aware of f thei irr impotence Gat t eway to God (1974). The Si i mo onnee Wei ilI Reader ing but t also tryi i ng to make a life of f it. Thus the last t An Ant thhoo lo lo ggyy (1986). last of the women. . " One feels that the last two words Terence Dawson might be enclosed in their own quotat tii on marks. Wel l do onn 's best work is less didactic than it is moral; it seeks less to draw a lesson than to depict t the truth. Readers have sensed a distance between her fictional practice and the strident t moralism that mars other Fay Weldon 1933-

Chapter

Int tii ma attiioonnss of i be errttyy (1958). Sel l ec ctteedd Essays, 19 13943 -^ 1 -9 1 4 94 3 3 ( (1962). the last t pre--f f emi inniisstt generation: women without Seve ennttyy Let ttt ers s (1965). On Science, , Neces sssiittyy and the power, wit t hout t theory, of ftteenn aware of f thei irr impotence Gat t eway to God (1974). The Si i mo onnee Wei ilI Reader ing but t also tryi i ng to make a life of f it. Thus the last t An Ant thhoo lo lo ggyy (1986). last of the women. . " One feels that the last two words Terence Dawson might be enclosed in their own quotat tii on marks. Wel l do onn 's best work is less didactic than it is moral; it seeks less to draw a lesson than to depict t the truth. Readers have sensed a distance between her fictional practice and the strident t moralism that mars other Fay Weldon 1933-

(1957). Oppre viewpoint. She has wri en that she belongs to (1958). Sel the last pre- generation: women without (1965). On Science, power, wit theory, of aware of thei impotence (1970). and oppressi angry, frust and despair- ing but also tryi ng to make a life of it. Thus the last (1977). Lect (197'8). Si words of are "We are the femini writing. Weldon has acknowl d the strong, even lopsided, moral intention in her fiction. Born September 1933, Alvechurch, She has admitted that she intentional y rounds out Worcestershire, England her female characters more fully than her male char- Genre(s): novel, short story, play, radio and televison acters: "I just make [male characters] behave, talk, and drama, scholarship I don' t add any justifi for their behaviour.

ABSTRACT

Assunta WertmuUer von Elgg Spanol von Braueich, the daughter of Maria Santa Maria and Federico WertmuUer, a successful Roman attorney. Her greatgreat-grandfather, Baron Erich WertmuUer von Elgg, is said to have fled Zurich for Italy after killing a rival in a duel. By Lina Wertmuller's own account, her father was an autocrat who made domestic life miserable until her mother walked out on him after fifty years of marriage. Yet, he was also quietly anti-Fascist, protecting partisans and harboring a family of Jews in his own home. Lina WertmuUer herself has served on the central committee of the Italian Socialist Party. Her work reflects this socialist orientation and a certain feminism by keeping film audiences alive to the exploitation rampant in the society in which they live. Her writing nevertheless exhibits little programmatic content, and she is often ambivalent enough to outrage both socialists and feminists.