Dec 28, 2009

The House by the Medlar Tree | The House by the Medlar Tree

At a glance:

Author: Giovanni Verga
First Published: 1881
Type of Work: Novel
Type of Plot: Impressionistic realism
Time of Work: Mid-nineteenth century
Setting: Sicily
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

Characters Discussed

Padron ’Ntoni Malavoglia (N-toh-nee mah-lah-VOHL-yee-ah), head of the once-prosperous family that lives by the medlar tree.

Bastianazzo (bah-stee-ahn- NAHZ-zoh), his son. His ambition to take black beans to Riposto to sell at a huge profit ruins the family when his boat, the Provvidenza, is wrecked.

La Longa, Bastianazzo’s wife, who distrusts Uncle Crucifix, the moneylender, but signs over to his assignee her rights to the house when he repeatedly demands payment for his loan on the lost beans. She dies of cholera.

’Ntoni,...

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The House by the Medlar Tree | The House by the Medlar Tree

At a glance:

Characters Discussed

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