Von der heroischen Patriotin zur intellektuellen Außenseiterin

Eleonora de Fonseca Pimentel in Enzo Strianos Il resto di niente

Abstract

Enzo Striano’s historical novel Il resto di niente (1986) deals with the life of 18th century poet and newspaper editor Eleonora de Fonseca Pimentel who is commemorated as the most prominent representative of the Neapolitan Republic of 1799. Executed by royalist repression after the Republic’s decline, she became a hero and patriotic martyr for Italy’s movement of national unification. Striano’s novel revises Fonseca Pimentel’s 19th century heroic image by portraying his protagonist as an intellectual outsider who eventually becomes aware of the futility of her political and social aspirations. This article examines the literary representations of Fonseca Pimentel as well as her importance as a point of reference for Naples’ intellectuals.