Feeding Fascism: The Politics of Women’s Food Work by Diana Garvin (review)

Abstract

dexes), each encounter envisaged the interpretation of a cluster of cantos, bringing the discussion outside the conventional boundaries of a canto-by-canto reading. In looking at the ‘duets’ gathered in the first two volumes, the reader will appreciate the greater breadth granted to scholars navigating Dante’s Inferno. is is particularly evident not only in the case of cantos that present a strong continuity, for instance Inferno  and  (read by Catherine M. Keen), or Inferno  and  (read by Ambrogio Camozzi Pistoja), but also when approaching cantos that apparently look more isolated, such as Inferno  and  (read by Franziska Meier). In its own way, each lectura offers key reflections on both established and recent critical approaches, discusses and sometimes offers a new perspective on hermeneutical cruces, while also setting new research trajectories. For instance, in her reading of Inferno  Terzoli cautiously suggests reading ll. – and – as uttered not by Francesca but by Paolo, further developing a view that Guglielmo Gorni supported in  and opposing the mainstream interpretation that considers Francesca the only narrative voice of one of the most famous episodes of Western literature (G. Giorni, ‘Francesca e Paolo: la voce di lui’, Intersezioni,  (), –). Another important element of Voci sull’‘Inferno’ is the presence of opening chapters that contextualize the Inferno within Dante’s biography and other works, thus providing a broader view on the place it holds within his intellectual and poetic journey. While the three essays opening the first volume (by Lino Pertile, Paolo Pellegrini, and Michelangelo Zaccarello respectively) concern the Inferno’s reception, popularity, composition, and material transmission, those in the second volume discuss its relation with Vita nuova, Convivio, and De vulgari eloquentia by examining central topics in Dante’s œuvre and scholarship, namely his experience and poetry of love (Donato Pirovano), the relation between knowledge, faith, grace, and salvation (Paola Nasti), as well as the nexus between his cartographic impetus, his linguistic and political concerns, and his status of exile (eodore J. Cachey, Jr). By providing the reader with a prolific and comprehensive view on the first cantica of the Commedia, Voci sull’‘Inferno’ di Dante is a remarkable, polyphonic instrument for study, research, and teaching. For this reason, among the countless initiatives that marked the th anniversary of Dante’s death, this collection will certainly survive as a rich contribution to Dante Studies.