ABSTRACT
Nevertheless, “verismo” is now used almost exclusively to describe a specific type of literary realism defined by Luigi Capuana and Giovanni Verga, who in their theoretical works and prefaces succeeded in formulating a con vincing literary aesthetic.6 Its general coherence with the work of Emile Zola eventually led to the establishment of the homogeneous set of characteristics presented in modern literary histories: the regional character and inherent pes simism of the stories; the blind passion of the protagonists; a quasi-scientific and detached approach to describing both the social, cultural, and political climate in which the characters function and their psychological thought processes; and the importance of a language appropriate to the social and geo graphical situation of the characters.7 In this kind of literature, the author must become intimately familiar with his characters: their customs, way of thinking, traditions, and language-an approach Verga called “scienza del cuore umano” (“science o f the human heart”).8 Literary verismo thus focuses on the
logical and tragic development o f the protagonists’ character as a consequence of the “fateful, endless and often wearisome and agitated path trod by human ity to achieve progress,” which leaves the weak by the wayside.9 It is important to keep in mind that a focus on the weak is not equivalent to a focus on the lowest social classes. Characters are frequently drawn from the middle class, and although never completed, later installments of Verga’s cycle I vinti-“The Duchess of Leyra” and “The Man of Luxury”—were intended to explore aristocratic realms.10