L’isola di Arturo di Elsa Morante

Abstract

The first two novels of Elsa Morante, Menzogna e sortilegio (1948) and L’isola di Arturo(1957), have always been considered texts without any recognizable relationship to their historical context, contrary to the view expressed by the author that any literary work of value will inevitably contain a portrait of its time. The aim of the present study is to cast light on those aspects of L’isola di Arturo that make it a typical product of the decade 1950-1960.