Neapolitan discourse in the narrative diary Mistero Napoletano

Abstract

Referring to ‘Discourse on the Cape of Good Hope’ by John Maxwell Coetzee,
the definition ‘Neapolitan Discourse’ refers to the city of Naples and its socio-cultural
environment, on one hand, and to certain themes and authors of Neapolitan Literature,
on the other. Towards this Literature the position taken by the author is as much one of
comparison as of confrontation.
Firstly, I analyse the question about the existence of a proper Neapolitan Literature and
its circumscription on the criterion of Neapolitanness. I define Neapolitan Literature as
a literary production in which the author’s response to Neapolitanness as a whole
becomes relevant (‘Neapolitan Discourse’).
Secondly, the themes and authors addressed in Mistero napoletano will be
circumscribed for the definiton of its ‘Neapolitan Discourse’. Specifically, the absence of
dialect and linguistic mix between Italian and Neapolitan will be discussed, while Anna
Maria Ortese and Raffaele La Capria will be identified as writers considered by Rea for
his ‘Neapolitan Discourse’.
Finally, I will discuss how Rea’s ‘Neapolitan Discourse’ can be seen as of interest to both
a local and a national reader of Italian.