Women of a Certain Age

Situated at the crossroads of gender studies, narratology, and cultural studies, this book investigates the impact that the demographic and cultural revolutions of the last century have had on Italian women's life courses and on their literary imaginations. The geographic and chronological focus is Italy of the 1990s. The study is divided into two parts that represent an ideal progression from contexts to texts. The first part traces changes in the representations of women's aging bodies during different phases of Italian history in connection with women's social status, geographical locations, education and professional opportunities, and marriage prospects. It also presents both statistical information about and analysis of the social presence, cultural impact, and gender identity of older people in present-day Italy. The second part of the book analyzes several novels, including Di buona famiglia and Ultima luna, for narrative structure, setting, choice of themes and imagery, and asks how and to what degree narrative strategies are affected by age consciousness.