Pietro Dalmazzo

Family as the Place for National Discrimination: An Analysis of Beatrice Speraz’s Autobiography

Introduction

Family as the place for national discrimination: an analysis of beatrice speraz’s autobiography . Analyze Beatrice Speraz's autobiography, exploring how family relationships and Italian-Dalmatian heritage influenced her national identity and led to discrimination.

Abstract

This essay examines Beatrice Speraz’s autobiography, Ricordi della mia infanzia in Dalmazia (1915), which describes her childhood in Dalmatia and how the different nationalities of her parents—one Italian and the other Dalmatian—affected her life and self-perception. It looks at how the author portrayed the formation of her national identity through relational dynamics with her maternal aunt and her father and emphasizes how one of the semantic aspects of this process was eventually dismissed by the Italian side of her family. The essay delves into these issues by employing Adriana Cavarero’s understanding of relationality and contrapuntal reading as theorized by Edward Said in Culture and Imperialism (1994). Through these lenses, the essay underscores how Speraz represented her identity as the daughter of an Italian mother and a Dalmatian father, and the kind of relationship she established between her national identity, Italy and Dalmatia. Furthermore, the essay elucidates how Speraz’s familial relationships played a pivotal role in two processes: first, in fostering her belief that she was a participant in a historically equal relationship between Italians and Dalmatians; and second, in her dismissal as a “barbarian” because her father was Dalmatian.

Review

This essay offers a compelling analysis of Beatrice Speraz’s *Ricordi della mia infanzia in Dalmazia* (1915), focusing on the complex interplay of national identity, family dynamics, and discrimination within the context of early 20th-century Dalmatia. The author effectively positions Speraz’s autobiography as a rich site for exploring how a bicultural upbringing, specifically with Italian and Dalmatian parentage, shapes an individual’s self-perception and national affiliation. By employing the theoretical frameworks of Adriana Cavarero’s relationality and Edward Said’s contrapuntal reading, the essay promises a nuanced examination of how the familial sphere can paradoxically become a microcosm for broader national tensions and prejudices. A significant strength of this essay lies in its innovative application of theoretical lenses to autobiographical material. The use of Cavarero’s relationality seems particularly well-suited to dissecting the intricate familial dynamics that underpinned Speraz's evolving national identity, while Said’s contrapuntal reading offers a powerful tool for uncovering the latent power structures and discriminatory narratives embedded within personal memory. The abstract highlights the essay's intention to illuminate how Speraz’s identity was shaped by both an initial belief in an equal Italian-Dalmatian relationship and the eventual painful dismissal of her Dalmatian heritage as 'barbarian' by her Italian family. This dual focus promises a sophisticated understanding of both individual psychological processes and historical-cultural anxieties surrounding national belonging in a contested region. While the essay clearly outlines its analytical approach and core arguments, it would benefit from a more explicit engagement with the broader historical context of Dalmatia at the turn of the century, particularly regarding the specific political and cultural tensions between Italian and Dalmatian identities that would have informed Speraz's family experiences. A deeper exploration of how the "semantic aspects" of her identity were "dismissed by the Italian side of her family" might also offer valuable insights, perhaps detailing the mechanisms and specific instances of this dismissal. Furthermore, a brief discussion on the reception or significance of Speraz’s autobiography at the time of its publication (1915) could further contextualize its value as a primary source for understanding national identity formation during this period.

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