Deconstructing Motherhood and Maternal-Daughter Tensions in Dacia Mariani’s La lunga vita di Marianna Ucrìa

Zijun Wang, PhD
Lecturer in Italian Studies, Jilin International Studies University.   

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Abstract

This paper examines the representation of motherhood and the mother-daughter relationship in Dacia Mariani’s La lunga vita di Marianna Ucrìa. The study finds that the novel challenges traditional notions of maternal identity within the framework of Italian patriarchal culture. Set in eighteenth-century Sicily, the narrative follows Marianna, a deaf and mute noblewoman who, through writing and introspection, gradually reclaims her autonomy and redefines her maternal legacy. While her mother embodies a conventional model of womanhood, constrained by societal expectations and silent complicity in patriarchal norms, Marianna’s detachment from her marks the beginning of a journey toward self-determination. Mariani raises crucial questions about maternal inheritance, female autonomy, and the possibility of disrupting oppressive structures across generations. The novel speaks to contemporary debates on gender, motherhood, and women’s agency by exposing the historical roots of patriarchal systems that continue to impact female experience..

Keywords: Motherhood, mother-daughter relationship, Italian patriarchy, maternal identity.