The House by the Medlar Tree (Cyclopedia of Literary Places)
At a glance:
- Author: Giovanni Verga
- First Published: 1881
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Impressionistic realism
- Time of Work: Mid-nineteenth century
- Genres: Long fiction, Impressionistic literature
- Subjects: Family or family life, Nineteenth century, Villages, Storms, Bankruptcy or financial crisis, Shipwrecks, Smuggling or smugglers, Italy or Italians, Debtors or creditors
- Locales: Sicily, Italy
Places Discussed
*Trezza. Village on the east coast of Sicily. Verga’s family saga could only take place in a village as claustrophobic and as removed from the opportunities offered by the broader world as Trezza. There, superstition motivates action more strongly than the nominal Roman Catholic religion. Villagers all know one another and know each other’s family histories. They wrest their livings from land and sea, and the novel presents details of their daily work realistically. The very repetitiveness of the descriptions conveys the monotony of existence in the...
[The entire page is 875 words long]
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