Summary
Highlights
The video introduces the topic of Naturalism and Verism, emphasizing the importance of understanding the differences between French Naturalism and Italian Verism—especially in preparation for studying Verga.
Naturalism, a literary movement born in France between 1870 and 1890, initially confused with Realism, is deeply influenced by Positivism. Positivism, a philosophical movement from the mid-19th century, emerged from industrialization and scientific advancements, advocating for the dominance of truth and scientific data in understanding social and human progress. The theories of Auguste Comte (the three stages of human evolution: theological, metaphysical, positive) and Charles Darwin (evolutionism and natural selection) are foundational to Naturalism, emphasizing scientific analysis and adaptation to the environment.
Key precursors to Naturalism include Honoré de Balzac, author of 'La Comédie humaine,' which meticulously classifies social realities and human types. Gustave Flaubert, known for 'Madame Bovary,' championed the theory of impersonality in art, where the artist remains invisible but omnipotent, striving for scientific precision. 'Madame Bovary' illustrates this with Emma Bovary's unfulfilled life and her eventual tragic end, giving rise to the concept of 'Bovarism'—spiritual dissatisfaction and a desire to escape reality.
Émile Zola, a central figure in French Naturalism, argued in his 'Experimental Novel' for applying scientific methods to human intellect and passions, making literature part of the sciences. Zola believed reality is governed by biological heredity and social environmental influences, and that scientific experimentation can help understand and control phenomena. The novelist, therefore, has a crucial social role, providing tools for legislators and politicians to direct social phenomena. His 'Rougon-Macquart' cycle, a series of twenty novels, vividly portrays French society during the Second Empire through the lives of a single family.
Zola's work gained significant traction in Italy, particularly among Milanese intellectuals. However, Italian Verism, led by figures like Giovanni Verga and Luigi Capuana, while admiring Zola, diverged from certain aspects of French Naturalism. Capuana, a literary critic, rejected the subordination of literature to scientific experimentation and direct political engagement, believing scientific rigor should be reflected in the writer's technique—an impersonal, objective observation of phenomena. Both Capuana and Verga championed the impersonality of the artwork, where the author disappears from the text, refraining from commentary or judgment. Verga, in particular, despite absorbing French and Italian literary discussions, remained somewhat isolated, limiting the widespread influence of Verism as a cohesive school, which was eventually supplanted by psychological novels in the 1890s.