“The homeland is on the ship:” D’Annunzio's La nave and the construction of nationhood

Abstract

A fervent nationalist and one of the authors most securely planted at the center of the Italian literary canon, D’Annunzio might not seem the most likely choice when seeking to trouble linguistically and culturally homogenous notions of Italian literary history. And yet, through an analysis of the 1908 play La nave—a work of nationalist propaganda—I argue that D’Annunzio's construction of italianità is the result of a complex negotiation between nationalist politics and a much more hybrid and cosmopolitan cultural ideal. Specifically, I point to the text's fascination with ‘oriental’ aesthetic practices, the general allure of the ‘other,’ its geographically decentered setting, and several structural and stylistic features that I define as ‘textual residues,’ to show that while the affirmation of Italian superiority ultimately takes precedence over representations of hybridity, multiplicity, and foreign influence, D’Annunzio's anxiety over their inclusion is nevertheless the driving force of the play.