Grazia Deledda was the first Italian woman to win a Nobel Prize. Since 1901 she has been the only woman to win a Nobel Prize in Literature. The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy. It is presented at a formal ceremony on December 10 at Stockholm, Sweden.

Birth and early years

Grazia Deledda was born in a little town called Nuoro in the island of Sardinia on September 27, 1871. Her father was a well-to-do landowner and farmer with many friends who became the inspiration of her various characters. Her father was also a book lover and poet. He had founded a small printing press to publish a small newspaper and his own poems. She went to the local elementary school in Nuoro after which she studied privately at home. She learnt Italian and French. She was an avid reader. She grew up with Sardinian legends, folklore and native customs, which had been preserved from ancient times. She reflected these themes in her works. She had a lot of responsibilities weighing on her shoulders due to a spate of illnesses and involvement in crime, which dodged her family members. She was the quiet and well- behaved girl among boisterous siblings. She took over the family business.

Her first publications

Her tutor at home encouraged her to write and gave her various themes to work on. Since her writings were so good he encouraged her to publish them. In 1887 she completed her first short story Sangue sardo (Sardinian Blood) and sent it to a fashion magazine the Ultima Moda. It was immediately published. Her early short stories appeared between 1888-89 in magazines in Rome and Milan. In 1892 she wrote her first novel Fior di Sardegna (Flower of Sardinia) and sent it to an editor in Rome. It was also published immediately. In 1895 she wrote Anime Oneste (Honest Souls), which was also well received. In 1896 she wrote La vie del male (The Way of Evil). This was a serious and socially aware attempt to look at life.

Her famous works

Her best works were written after she left Sardinia. They reflected the Sardinian way of life and its people. Now there was a lot of nostalgia in her work. In 1900 she wrote Il vecchio della montagna (The Old Man of the Mountain). It was a nostalgic and mythic story of a goatherd a simple character caught up in the tragic effects of temptation and sin. Her first real success was in 1903 when she wrote Elias Portolu. It was first translated by Revue des deux mondes. It was later translated into all the European languages. This novel had a streak of fatalism. There were also moral conflicts, transgressions and private revolts. She explored the battle of free will against destiny. She used characters drawn from life including her family members, neighbours and the locals. This was a masterpiece of tragic love in a drama of strong moral force where the protagonists fight against their yearnings and their fates.

In 1904 she wrote Cenere (Ashes). This was perhaps her most disturbing work. It speaks of a woman who gives up her child to foster parents to give him a better chance in life. Unfortunately the child longs for his biological mother and reunites with her with the help of a childhood amulet given by her. However he reproaches her so much that he drives her to commit suicide. This novel captivated audiences all over Europe and was adapted for the screen. In 1916 Cenere was directed by Febo Marie and was filmed on location in Sardinia. Eleonora Duse came out of retirement to enact the mother’s role. This role assumed a lot of significance as Duse herself had made a similar sacrifice. This movie has been a unique classic movie in the history of silent movies.

Deledda was a versatile writer. She also wrote poems. In 1912 she wrote L’edera
(The Ivy), a play with three acts, in collaboration with Camillo Antona-Traversi.

In 1913 Canne al vento (Reeds in the Wind) was published. This was a fascinating novel, which criticized moral norms and social values without criticizing the people who were caught up in their web.

In 1920 she addressed the theme of suffering mothers in her popular novel La Madre (The Mother). In this novel she showed that tragedy and sorrow are the natural outcomes of love. A mother is not able to reconcile to the fact that her son is both a catholic priest and a sensual lover. She attacks bigotry and social norms but not the transgressors as they suffer because of their own instincts.

Influences on her work

No single strong influence can be seen in her works except perhaps the impact of her native Sardinia and its inhabitants. In some of her works one can find influences of verism as propounded by Giovanni Verga. When she received the Nobel Prize in literature she mentioned Verga as a worthier winner than herself. In others one can almost find the decadence of Gabriele d’Annunzio who was the favourite writer of some of her family members including her brother and his friends. However in her works there is always a strong and deep connection between the people, the places and the environment. The environment of Sardinia is relived through its myths. She has also influenced many older and younger writers. Perhaps her works reflect the verismo (naturalistic) school in Italian literature more than any other genre.

Personal life

She met her husband in Palmiro Mardiesani in Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia. In January 1900 they got married. They had two sons Sardus and Franz. They later decided to live in Rome.

She was a shy and reclusive woman who let her writings speak for herself. She rarely spoke in public. At public appearances and receptions she was taciturn. Her acceptance speech at the Nobel Ceremony was one of the shortest ever acceptance speech.

When she received the Nobel prize Benito Mussolini felicitated her. In private she considered these festivities as a farce but accepted them as inescapable, the price of fame. When she was given an opportunity to ask Mussolini a favour she asked for the release of her friend and fellow countryman Elia Sanna Mannironi. He had been imprisoned for anti-Fascist activities.

The Nobel Prize

This popular Italian author was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1926 for her idealistic writings of life on her native island of Sicily as well as for her ability to write about human problems in general with depth and sympathy. Her first nomination recorded by the Academy dated to 1913 when her name was put forward by Italian academics. By the year 1926 she had already established herself as a writer of international repute. She was fascinated by her trip to Sweden and Stockholm her only trip away from Italy. She wrote about her trip to her sons as well as published her sentiments in Corriere della Serra.

Later works

She wrote extensively even after receiving the Nobel Prize. In 1930 she published La casa del poeta (The Poet’s House) and in 1933 Sole d’estate (Summer Sun) was published. Both these collections of short stories reflected her optimism despite the fact that she was suffering from breast cancer.

She also published a few novels in this period. In 1931 Il paese del vento (Land of the Wind) was published. This novel was rich blend in imagination and reality as it had autobiographical references. In 1934 L’argine ( The Barrier) was published. The major theme in this novel was the renunciation of love and other worldly matters and
reconciliation with God. This theme also mirrored her life at that period of time.

In 1936 her novel La chiesa della solitudine (The Church of Solitude) was published just before her death. The protagonist Maria Concezione had the incurable malady of breast cancer just like Deledda suffered in the last few years before her death.

After her death two of her novels were published. They included Cosima in 1937. In this novel the heroine shares her name- Cosima with that of Grazia Deledda whose middle name was Cosima. This autobiographical story speaks of Deledda’s life until her first trip by train to the capital city of Sardinia on October 21, 1899. Caligiari is where she met her future husband. Cosima speaks of her life in Sardinia, which has been the soul of her writings and also been the reason she became an author. In Cosima she says that the protagonist wrote as if the poems and stories were written with the help of an unseen hand of a hidden power. This may be what she considered happened in her own life considering the fact that that she received a minimal education and yet was able to have a maximum output of literary works. Il cedro Di Libano (the Cedar of Lebanon)was published in 1939.

Grazia Delleda has written over thirty novels, four hundred short stories. She also wrote a few articles, a play, an opera-libretto and some poems. Her stories are generally set in Sardinia and depict the life and customs of the simple folk. They often have to find their own solutions to their complex problems and this lifts them in stature.

Death

Grazia Deledda died on August 15, 1936. She was buried in a quiet spot at the foot of Monte Ortobone near her hometown Nuoro. A memorial church has been built and has been named after her novel La chiesa della solitudine (The Church of Solitude).

In modern day Italy many of Grazia Deledda’s novels are printed in fine and inexpensive pocket editions. They are mainly published by Mondadori publishers, Milan and thus keep her legacy alive.