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Rosso Malpelo

"Rosso Malpelo" is a short story by Giovanni Verga. The title "Rosso Malpelo" is Italian for "evil redhead", a nickname which combines Rosso (red) with Malpelo (evil hair), as Sicilians believed people with red hair were malicious and had an evil disposition. The story, written in 1878, is set in Verga's native Sicily and reflects the social and economic conditions endured by the poor working classes in Southern Italy at the time. The story is a fine example of Italian Realism or Verismo, and is written in Verga's concise, impersonal and distinctly Sicilian style, manipulating the narrative voice into something more akin to the oral tradition. His subject matter and scientific style has led to comparison to Émile Zola's more widely known book, Germinal. This … more »