A Psychopathology of the Expression. Federico De Roberto's Donato del Piano

Abstract

The paper focuses on the role of De Roberto in the shift from an objective to a subjective narrative, which takes place in the late 19th century literature. His subjectivism is neither romantic nor esthetical, but develops within a climate of scientific and literary thought, which results from the insight of positivist scientism.

Considering De Roberto’s prefaces, which testify to his eclectic poetics, the paper shows his concern with a problematic concept of realism, which draws upon Maupassant’s considerations on the relativity of true or truth.

Also, the study investigates to what extent De Roberto’s theoretical insights, as illustrated in his “Preface” to Documenti Umani, are implemented in Donato del Piano through creative writing, thus bespeaking a metanarrative dimension. The main character struggles with the impossibility of finding a full correspondence between his feelings and ideas and the words to voice them. He also struggles with the problems related to language, thus anticipating some aspects of Pirandello’s thought.

Another element of modernity is De Roberto’s perception of the unknowable nature of the Self, that he draws upon La Parole Intérieure by Egger who can be considered as the first theorist of the interior monologue.

Through an intertextual comparison with some of the outstanding authors in the context of Positivism (Maupassant, Taine, Egger), the study shows that De Roberto goes beyond simple forms of methodological eclecticism. Focusing on the recent achievements in psychology, De Roberto foreruns one of the major issues critical to the 20^th century reflection over the crisis of subjectivity.