The following thesis is a comparative study of Ruskin and Proust. The six years which Proust spent studying the Englishman's works have prompted several full-length studies and many articles devoted to tracing the nature and extent of Ruskin's influence on the creation of A la recherche du temps perdu. In the first three chapters I suggest that the very proliferation of such studies indicates that a different emphasis is required; one which pays full attention to Ruskin's qualities as a writer and is even prepared to consider the paradox of Proust's influence on Ruskin. Where previous scholars in this field have over-emphasised the dubious notion of influence, unquestioningly adopting Proust's version of an idealist aesthetic and presenting it as a nimble adaptation of Ruskin's clumsy prototype, my study defers questions of influence and affinity and contrasts the two writers under the terms of écrivain and écrivant (chapters 2 and 3). In noting the extent to which the self-regulating theory embedded in Proust's novel has informed, and indeed controlled subsequent critical debate, I indicate how the true nature and import of Ruskin's work has been obscured, and examine incorporations of the 'marginal' discourses of art criticism and autobiography into the mainstream genre of the novel. A chapter on the evaluative connotations of 'influence' is followed by an extended comparison of Praeterita and Fors Clavigera with A la recherche au temps perdu as examples of the creation and re-creation of the self through the act of writing (chapters 5 and 6). The question of sources is only tangentially addressed, my main aim being to allow two radically different yet representative writers to confront each other, rather than to consolidate any questionable theory of succession.

Romance as a literary genre, although dominant in medieval Europe, has often been marginalized in later ages. Even when it saw a marked revival in Britain in the later nineteenth century, it still found itself embattled; its practitioners and advocates had to justify their position in an era which tended to regard tales of wonder and adventure as being little more than childish fancies and contrary to prevailing notions about the continuing advancement of the human race and the perceived duty of writers to engage with social issues of the day. However, the phenomenon could not be so easily ignored, or dismissed as belonging merely to the province of lower and undeveloped tastes. This thesis considers the work of several romance writers of the period, of varying background, outlook, and literary ability. These are, principally, Buchan, Chesterton, Conan Doyle, Conrad, Haggard, Kipling, Machen, Stevenson, and Wells. Throughout, the emphasis is upon works which in the past may have been comparatively neglected: for instance, in many cases, such as that of Buchan or Wells, the short stories take precedence over the novels. Adventuring into new realms of possibility often took the form in this period of an actual journey out to far places. Chapter One discusses the colonial romances of Buchan and Haggard in Africa, Kipling in India and Conrad and Stevenson in the Far East and the South Seas - distinct geographical locations in which differing romance elements come to the fore. It is argued that overall in this period there seem to be fewer romantic possibilities abroad than in former ages, but that they are still seen to linger (perhaps unexpectedly) in Conrad. Chapter Two undertakes a special study of Haggard in order to show how he modifies the imperial adventure tale of his day by bringing in elements of other, older, romance traditions - this being an important, and under-recognized, aspect of his fiction.

Jacques Maritain, although now largely ignored in France except for opportunistic re-appropriations of his work, was and still is highly esteemed in North (and South) America. This thesis examines the extent to which Maritain himself is responsible for the unevenness of his reputation, besides the part played by relevant geopolitical events. It also questions how much his readers have contributed by selecting from the complex mosaic of his work those things which suit their purposes. The thesis examines the core tenet of Maritain’s work: the tension between the ‘esprit dur’ of his inflexible Thomist theology and philosophy and the ‘coeur doux’ of his liberal humanitarianism. This tension is examined from the standpoint of the Second Vatican Council and Maritain’s response to those pivotal years in the Catholic Church, his self-declared testament, Le Paysan de la Garonne. Maritain’s contribution to the Council and its aftermath, especially as applied to consideration of the Church’s position on ‘la question juive’, helped to seal the fate of his jagged reputation. The research analyses Maritain’s key outputs contextually during a period of massive upheaval and shows their expansive influence. The dialogic approach to the works encompasses not only French but North American sources. The thesis also analyses correspondence between Maritain and his close friend Cardinal Journet, which has not before been the subject of significant analysis, enabling a deeper reading of Le Paysan de la Garonne and what lay behind the book, fifty years after its publication. This multi-disciplinary thesis, relevant to French studies, philosophy, intellectual history, politics and religious studies, makes a compelling case for a reappraisal of Maritain’s legacy - an individual so often ‘homme-carrefour’, caught up in key twentieth-century events and yet also having a vital influence on them.

This thesis studies the dialogue that occurs between the works of Jorge Luis Borges and Miguel de Unamuno relative to their views on various issues of a philosophical nature, such as the limits of human knowledge or the possibility of immortality. This study is made from a transnational perspective in which the texts are read not as simple representatives of a local context, but as part of a literary dynamic which transcends geographical limits. In approaching the analysis form this perspective, one can observe the way in which, on occasions, both authors’ works follow parallel lines of reason which thereby mutually clarify and expound upon each other. In other instances, although the ideas expressed with respect to certain arguments – particularly that of immortality– originate from opposite directions, these very ideas become complementary and even find some common ground. The introduction to the thesis sets out a dual approach that has served as a methodological framework to this investigation. Thus, the proposed approach combines perspectives from both comparative and transnational studies which will facilitate the inclusion in the study of concepts derived from different philosophical, literary, cultural and religious sources. This is followed by the core of the thesis which is divided into two parts. The first part consists of two chapters that are dedicated to the analysis of the relationship between the Borges’ and Unamuno’s literary texts and Kierkegaard’s and Schopenhauer’s philosophical works, placing special emphasis on the interest that Borges’ and Unamuno’s texts have in the notions of knowledge –of both the self and the universe– and on the existence of the subject. The first chapter revolves around the study of the existing relationship between the Works of Miguel de Unamuno and the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. A brief section is dedicated to the explanation of some of the fundamental notions of Kierkegaardian ideology, paying particular attention to what he understands as the three principal states of individual development: the aesthetic (in which responsibility is rejected), the ethical (responsibility is accepted), and the theological (one achieves closeness to God). Through this explanation of Kierkegaard’s approaches, one can observe the way in which the analysis of certain Unamunian texts in the light of these parameters will offer new and intriguing shades of meaning. Thus, the concept of accepting responsibility that is so prevalent in Kierkegaard’s works will reveal Augusto Pérez from Niebla as an aesthetic, liminal or Romantic character who feels alienated by his surrounding reality and aspires to iii escape this alienation and embrace a more complete, more ethical existence. The notion of responsibility to others and to oneself is also key in understanding the tortured nature of don Manuel in the novella Don Manuel Bueno, mártir. Don Manuel’s ethics are challenged by the conflict generated between the internal and the external. At the same time, this conflict will help to elevate the moral stature of another character in the story; Angela Carballino. Finally, the notion of a ‘leap of faith’, which according to Kierkegaard is necessary in order to arrive at the theological stage of development, will become fundamental when studying how brother Juan confronts his difficulties relating to divinity and the infinite. If the analysis of the existing relationship between the works of Unamuno and Kierkegaard will permit a broader comprehension of the key ideas in Unamuno, such as personal evolution, the relationship with oneself, reality and divinity, then the study of Borges’ and Schopenhauer’s works, as presented in the second chapter, is equally beneficial. In this chapter, after another brief presentation of some of Schopenhauer’s basic philosophical concepts, one will be able to observe the way in which Borges incorporates these into his stories –however, sometimes subtly modified. The idea of Schopenhauerian will plays a fundamental role when configuring the relationship that man maintains with himself and with the universe in texts such as ‘La forma de la espada’ or ‘ La escritura del dios’, and thereby illustrates the importance of universal causality in certain Borgesian works. The story ‘Deutsches Requiem’ is particularly revealing in this aspect as this narrative acquires a fundamental presence of the notion of a ‘moment of clarity’; an instant in time and space when a human being is capable of modifying the inevitable universal causality through choice. The second part of the thesis, also divided into two chapters, revolves around the study of the creative dialogue between both authors’ texts in relation to two particular issues; the limits of human reason and the challenge of eternity. The first chapter of this part delves deeper into the previously mentioned interest that Unamuno and Borges exhibited in their writings for the relationship between the individual and the universe. Knowledge is fundamental to this relationship, which is problematic due to the limits that reason imposes upon human beings. This chapter will focus on the manner in which both authors’ characters face the inability to comprehend their surrounding realities whilst attempting to satisfy the need for knowledge. There are two main consequences in the search for knowledge: death, at the hands of another or self-induced, or the hopeful resignation to a future where the truth will be revealed. Both Borges’ and Unamuno’s characters throw themselves into the search for wisdom propelled by identical motives. They experience similar moods and suffer the same negative consequences. However, a small number of Borges’ characters are able to go one step further than their Unamunian counterparts and end up in full possession of the knowledge they seek. The result is deceiving as these characters, upon achieving universal wisdom, lose their very essence, thereby demonstrating that human beings are unable to comprehend the ultimate mysteries of the universe. The creative dialogue studied in this third chapter is based upon Unamuno’s and Borges’ communion of perspectives on the fact that humans suffer from the impossibility of absolute knowledge. In this dialectic, Borges’ texts complement Unamuno’s and offer another perspective of the topic in question by introducing new elements to the debate and arriving at the same conclusion. iv Through a narrative dialogue, the second chapter of this part studies how Borges’ and Unamuno’s positions on the afterlife, although seemingly opposite, actually complement each other and even share some common ground. Initially, both authors’ texts play with two completely different perspectives on the existence of the individual in eternity. Unamuno’s texts plead from the very beginning for the need of a human to access an individual immortality in which the personal conscience is preserved at all costs. In spite of the fact that there exists a certain flexibility with regard to the preservation of individuality after death in Unamuno’s texts, their insistence upon perpetuating one’s own conscience separates them from Borges’ narrations. In these texts, passing into eternity is described as collective experience in which an indispensable condition must be observed at all times; the complete dissolution of the individual conscience. These two perspectives on human existence in the hereafter do not only complement and illuminate one another, but also find a point of middle ground in one of Unamuno’s most classic propositions; the concept of intrahistoria.

This thesis sets out to examine the thematic function of extraordinary children and animals (characters who possess a metamorphic nature, magical traits or supernatural powers) in the works of two Italian women writers of the twentieth century, Paola Masino and Anna Maria Ortese. Drawing on a range of theoretical and critical works (on the literary representation of childhood and the animal world, on women writers, on the fantastic), I argue that these characters, thanks to their Otherness, have both a constructive as well as disruptive function. On the one hand, they enable the authors to construct and develop themes, arguments, statements of poetics and references to other works and, on the other hand, they allow them to 'disrupt', challenge and unmask a society trapped in its perbenismo and dehumanising rules and ideals. Carrying out a literary reading in a historical context, the thesis explores thematic areas, such as the victimisation of weaker beings, the portrayal of a reality not perceivable by the senses, the conflicting relationship between mankind and nature and the hidden truths of modern society. The thesis will also highlight how these characters contribute to the building of a thick web of intertextual references, unconscious or voluntary echoes to other literary and artistic works, as well as of the folkloric tradition. Despite a rediscovery of Masino's writing, previous critical studies have not focused on the representation of childhood or the animal world. The more consistent critical apparatus on Ortese's oeuvre has also not looked at the contribution of extraordinary children and animals as a category, examining them individually and in isolation. This thesis is the first study to look at the two authors' extraordinary children and animals as an instrumental cohort of characters to build on themes, convey criticism and create a dialogical dimension with other works.

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As the title suggests, this essay is a feminist and postcolonial literary analysis of the main character Okonkwo´s downfall and demise in acclaimed author Chinua Achebe´s 1958 novel, Things Fall Apart. A recurrent theme within the narrative is the concept of gender differences and gender roles, in the strict traditional and patriarchal system which serves as the setting of the narrative. Okonkwo, who is a traditional and proud Igbo man, has an aversion toward what is considered to be weak and feminine. Okonkwo is therefore struck with depression when he finds himself in a weak and helpless position, as well as emasculated emotional state of mind. Furthermore, Okonkwo becomes a victim to colonialism in the latter part of the narrative, which consequently adds to his already helpless and emasculated state of mind. The purpose with this essay is therefore to investigate if feelings of emasculation are the cause for Okonkwo´s final decision to end his own life. Based upon the analysis included in this essay, one of the conclusions that could be drawn was that the helplessness and feelings of emasculation Okonkwo experiences within the narrative are too much for him to cope with and therefore cause his downfall and demise.

This thesis engages with migration literature in Italian keeping at the centre of the analysis its dissemination. I argue that this approach offers new insights into the ways migration dialogues with contemporary Italian literature - and, more generally, with contemporary Italy - with a focus on the work of translingual authors writing in Italian. The aim of this research is not to engage critically with the body of texts written by migrant writers. Rather, it focuses on sites of dissemination of this production, analysing the aims, content, and outcomes of selected case studies from this perspective. Key concerns are the public perception of migration and growing attention in the media: this thesis seeks to explore to what extent these tensions emerge when migration literature is communicated to a wide public audience and whether they affect the way in which these writers and their works are presented. This thesis considers these case studies in relation to the scholarly debate on transnational and migration literature in Italian. Thanks to the notion of 'cultural intermediary', I discuss the role and prerogatives of agents involved, for example the creative nature of their work. The case studies cover a range of time that spans from the early nineties to 2017 and they include: initiatives devoted specifically to migration literature such as series of book launches and workshops (Centro culturale Multietnico La Tenda in Milan, Seminari della Sagarana); television broadcasts (with a focus on three television broadcasts on the Italian public television channel RAI 3); educational materials for schools; and writers (Compagnia delle poete and Gabriella Ghermandi). Thanks to this approach, this thesis inserts some crucial moments of the dissemination of migration literature in Italian into a polycentric network of initiatives that uses the internet as a means to communicate and as a repository of materials. The thesis demonstrates the impact that these modes of dissemination have had not only on reception, but also on artistic practices and the production of literary texts.

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