Conflict, mobility and alterity: World War II and the Italians in Eric Newby and Iris Origo

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Abstract

In the Italy of the Second World War, conflict brings about a remarkable migration of various groups which come into contact with one another: local Italians meet soldiers, partisans, prisoners, sfollati, Germans, ex-Fascists, Allies, and representatives from a myriad of populations who transit up and down Italy as a result of hostilities between nations and political factions. This essay seeks to interpret the effects of conflict on the textual representation of Italy, and in particular rural Italy, by English-speaking writers during World War II. The analysis examines two representative texts, War in Val d'Orcia (1947), authored by Iris Origo, a privileged Anglo-American woman (who herself had a hybrid identity), married to an Italian nobleman, and Love and War in the Apennines (1971) by Eric Newby, a British soldier who subsequently became an established travel writer and journalist. Drawing on theories on travel, mobility, identity and alterity, this essay compares the two writers approaches to Italian (rural) Others, as well as to the representatives of various non-Italian nationalities they encounter in their wartime narratives.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)149-162
Number of pages14
JournalStudies in Travel Writing
Volume16
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2012

Keywords

  • conflict
  • genre
  • Italy
  • mobility
  • the Other
  • travel writing
  • World War II

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