A Window on the Italian Female Modernist Subjectivity

Book excerpt: This collection of essays surveys some of the artistic productions by female figures who stood at the forefront of Italian modernity in the fields of literature, photography, and even the theatre, in order to explore how artistic engagement in women informed their views on, and reactions to the challenges of a changing society and a ‘disinhibiting’ intellectual landscape. However, one other objective takes on a central role in this volume: that of opening a window on the re-definition of the subjectivity of the self that occurred during an intriguing and still not fully studied period of artistic and societal changes. In particular, the present volume aims to define a female Italian Modernism which can be seen as complementary, and not necessarily in opposition, to its male counterpart.