Whether it is a dove becoming a beautiful princess, three pomegranates becoming three fair maidens, or a melancholic prince becoming a happy king, metamorphosis is central to the fairy tales gathered in The Pomegranates and Other Modern Italian Fairy Tales. Edited and translated by Cristina Mazzoni, this book is part of Princeton University Press’s Oddly Modern Fairy Tales series, which is producing a growing collection of literary fairy tales from around the world. While previous releases have drawn from the fairy tales of Great Britain, France, Japan, and China, with this volume Mazzoni brings together twenty Italian fairy tales—all but one translated into English for the first time—written between 1875 and 1914. This was a time of metamorphosis not only for the fairy-tale characters but also for the recently politically unified Italy.
This collection begins with an introduction authored by Mazzoni that situates the fairy tales in the political moment of late-nineteenth and early twentieth-century Italy. Mazzoni includes a quote from author and politician Massimo d’Azeglio that sets up the cultural importance of children’s books and fairy tales: “Italy has been made, and now it is time to make Italians” (2). Mazzoni indicates that following the political unification of Italy most Italians did not share a common language, and that many were unable to read or write. Fairy tales, both those transmitted orally and those written, were thus seen as having great educational potential for the formation of an Italian identity. They were a way to spread information about various Italian regions and to preserve regional identities that seemed vulnerable following the unification.
Throughout the introduction, Mazzoni details the historical process of gathering and disseminating these folktales, the ways in which these folktales came to the populace—some being translated from French, others being updated versions of older tales, and others still being newly written—as well as a discussion of the various authors and their works. Due to the problem of having to succinctly discuss all twenty fairy tales and the historical context of post-unification Italy, the introduction is best read before and after finishing the fairy tales. The provided historical context is significant for understanding the tales, but the long list of titles can be overwhelming without prior knowledge of the specific stories. Still, this is a concise and illuminating introduction that greatly enhances the reader’s appreciation of the tales even if only read once.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this collection is how many of the stories are variants of the same folkloric type. Mazzoni explains their inclusion by writing, “The presence of two or more versions or similar stories and the recurrence of fairy-tale motifs in this volume is meant to emphasize both the impressive persistence of certain narrative elements and how the changed details make a difference” (7). These alterations may appear slight, such as the princess wearing a pumpkin disguise in Domenico Comparetti’s “Bad Pumpkin” whereas she wears a donkey skin in Collodi’s “Donkey Skin.” Or, they may appear much more substantial, as when Luigi Capauna’s princess in “Golden Feather” solves her problem of becoming ever lighter by eating salt and pepper, whereas Guido Gozzano’s heroine in “Goldenfeather and Finestlead” solves the same problem by kissing a prince who is becoming ever heavier. These differences often result in largely different character arcs and endings, and the transformations of these similar narratives reveal the authors’ individual styles and suggest authorial intent.
At the end of the book, Mazzoni includes biographical notes on the original authors. This greatly aids in situating the fairy tales in their cultural context. Although brief, these biographical notes provide great insight into the authors, including Domenico Comparetti, Collodi (Carlo Lorenzini), Yorick (Pietro Coccoluto Ferrigni), Luigi Capuana, Gabriele D’Annunzio, Grazia Deledda, Emma Perodi, Cordelia (Virginia Tedeschi Treves), and Guido Gozzano. For example, I was struck by the description of how Cordelia’s first novel was explicitly anti-feminist while her last asserted the right of women to work. In the translations of her tales, the female characters possess more agency than in many of the collection’s earlier stories, indicating a metamorphosis of not only the characters but also the author.
Overall, The Pomegranates and Other Modern Italian Fairy Tales brings together twenty fairy tales from a period of uncertainty over what it meant to be Italian. Metamorphosis is central to the fairy tales in this collection, and it is also seen through the various versions of similar narratives. The opportunity to compare these narrative variants, as well as Mazzoni’s well-written introduction, provide a critical lens through which to discuss the tales, making this an ideal text for undergraduate and graduate students, professors, and researchers outside of academia. Additionally, as the tales are presented without analysis or notes, this is a great collection for the casual reader as well. Mazzoni’s well-translated and carefully curated collection provides insight into how folktales influenced and were influenced by a volatile period of national identity-formation in Italy. It is a worthy addition to the Oddly Modern Fairy Tales series.
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[Review length: 828 words • Review posted on February 25, 2022]