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Loading... Ashes (1904)by Grazia Deledda
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Jan Kozma's English translation of Grazia Deledda's Ashes (Cenere, 1904) represents a rendering of the novel that embodies the Nobel Prize-winning author's mature style. Ashes is the story of Oli, a Sardinian unwed mother who is forced by poverty to abandon her only child. Raised by his genetic father, Ananias eventually attains social acceptability in the legal prefession yet cannot give up his obsessive search for his mother. When Oli realizes that public knowledge of her life in prostitution will jeopardize her son's impending marriage and professional success, she makes the ultimate maternal sacrifice to ensure his future. Deledda's novel explores the themes of filial duty, hypocritical societal expectations, the ravages of poverty, and maternal devotion. The author interweaves into the novel leitmotivs of Sardinian folklore, health issues, banditry, illegitimacy, prostitution, and the social mores of the late nineteenth century with all the attendant public opprobrium. When Henrik Schuck introduced Grazia Deledda to the Stockholm audience at the Nobel Prize ceremonies in 1926, he made a special point of mentioning that she had brought to the attention of the world certain rive No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)853.8Literature Italian and related languages Italian fiction Later 19th century 1859–1900LC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.94)
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Wikipedia in English
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As a student of Italian language and culture, I find it remarkable that Deledda wrote so substantially and so well considering the social limitations of the time and place (turn of the century Sardegna). Deledda's education was limited to three years of primary school (as Kozma mentions in her helpful introduction), yet she boldly makes references to great works of Italian literature, including Manzoni's famous "Addio monti" passage from I Promessi Sposi (See Part I, Chapter 7 in Deledda) and The Divine Comedy by Dante (Purg. 8.1-9; See beginning of Part II, Chapter 1 in Deledda).
The novel itself is rich in Sardegnian culture; Deledda's story follows the life of Ananias, a boy who is both hopeful and tortured by the uncertain fate of a mother he can't remember. As Ananias grows to become a man, he allows his promising future to be jeopardized by his speculative past. Symbol, madness, and insight are weaved into the scenery of this beautiful, psychological, and tragic journey.
I found a faithful translation in Kozma, not to mention a helpful introduction and notes.