Abstract
This chapter examines Fenoglio’s translation of a section of Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part 1. This chapter delves into Fenoglio’s fascination with the character of Falstaff in particular. This character appears to have served as a model for Fenoglio’s own representation of partisans in his short fiction and one-act play Solitudine. Fenoglio portrayed partisans as flawed individuals rather than knights in shining armour in these works. Many contemporary critics disapproved of this unflinchingly realistic portrayal of partisans because it did not conform to mainstream ideas about “literary commitment” and what it was supposed to be. The analysis of this translation, both in terms of strategies and cultural significance, brings to the fore a rather contentious issue concerning Fenoglio’s dissenting view of the men and women who fought in the resistance war. It also demonstrates his unwavering dedication to accuracy in translating and narrating.
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Notes
- 1.
A similar treatment was reserved to other artists: for example, the Italian director Luigi Turolla received negative reviews for his movie The Hand on the Rifle (1962), because the film focused on the human tragedy of the war without idealization nor rhetoric. For reference, see the review of the movie written by C. Bertiero in the Journal “Bianco e Nero” (November 1962).
- 2.
This leaflet is preserved in the Archivio Istituto Storico di Modena. A reproduction of it is available at: https://keynes.scuole.bo.it/ipertesti/il_ventennio/Propaganda%20fascista%20della%20RSI.htm.
- 3.
Falstaff argues: “What is honor? A word”, (5, 1:134–135).
- 4.
The Old Blister is the fifth short story of the collection entitled I ventitre giorni della città di Alba.
- 5.
This play is probably one of the last things Fenoglio ever wrote, together with two other plays: Atto Unico and Prologhi (Fenoglio, 2008).
- 6.
- 7.
For an in-depth analysis of the political significance of the Togliatti amnesty, see Franzinelli (2016).
- 8.
For treatment of the theme of the Resistance in literature see Falaschi (1976). Literary critic Asor Rosa also edited an illuminating anthology of anti-fascist and Resistance literature (1974); on the issues of rhetoric and representation of the war in Italian literature also Milanini (1980) and Gabriele Pedullà’s introduction to Una Questione Privata (Fenoglio, 2007).
- 9.
In recent years, some journalists and intellectuals started to look at the Resistance in a perspective which has been defined as revisionist. In particular, journalist Gianpaolo Pansa published a number of works in which he reported the alleged violence acts perpetrated by the partisans, with the aim to obscure the idea that those who fought in the Resistance were truly committed to justice. For a critical insight of Pansa’s works see Serkowska (2014, pp. 91–99).
- 10.
See Weiss (1993) for an in-depth examination of Italo Calvino’s understanding of the works of Fenoglio. See also the letters written by Calvino to Fenoglio in the collection edited by Luca Bufano (Fenoglio, 2002). It was only after the publication of Una Questione Privata and of the novel Il partigiano Johnny that Fenoglio was finally understood. But the cultural and political situation had changed: it was a new generation of rebels, the ones fighting for a different renovation of culture and politics, that was able to recognize in Fenoglio’s work the inspiration for a new fight for liberty: the students of the revolution of 1968 welcomed and modelled themselves on the young rebel Johnny (Pedullà, 2012, p. 906).
- 11.
The text of Shakespeare that I use as a reference in this chapter is The Norton Shakespeare, edited by S. Greenblatt (1997, pp. 1157–1224).
- 12.
Merriam-Webster.comDictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dagger. Accessed 15 May 2020.
- 13.
You fucked us up! You pig!
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Vetri, V. (2023). “Falstaffian” Partisans: Fenoglio’s Translation of Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part 1 and Fenoglio’s Original Writings. In: Poetics, Ideology, Dissent. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29908-7_5
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