To several silences. The redressing power of the unspoken in «Ora Intima» and «L’Infanta sepolta»

Abstract

The following article aims to read two short stories by Paola Masino and Anna Maria Ortese in the perspective of the compensatory function that silence takes on in them. The absence of voice characterizes, in fact, both Ortese’s L’Infanta sepolta - from the collection of the eponymous title published in 1950 by Adelphi - and Masino’s Ora intima that appeared posthumously in 1992 in Colloquio di notte. The present reflection seeks to show how the silence to which the Black Madonna and Sister Arcangela are condemned gives them an opportunity for redemption. Their rebellion, in fact – though apparently inscribed in female silence – takes its start from the absence of voice to break free from the tradition of acquiescence and passivity.