Book
Italian folktales in America: the verbal art of an immigrant woman
Wayne State University Press • Detroit • Published In 1988 • Pages: xxi, 322
By: Mathias, Elizabeth, Raspa, Richard, Todesco, Clementina.
Abstract
This is a delightful collection of Italian folktales told by an Italian-American, Clementina Todesco, and recorded by her daughter in 1941. The authors interviewed Clementina in 1977 and recorded her life story. Included in her story is a wonderful account of the practice and setting of folktelling in her home village of Faller in northern Italy. In Faller, stories were told in the communal environment of the stable where families would repair after a hard day's work to cook meals, eat together, and socialize. Usually the storyteller was an elderly man who regaled his audience, day in and day out, sometimes taking days to finish a story. Some of these stories are recognizable to anyone familiar with the classic folktales recorded by the Brothers Grimm, although recombined here in their own variant form. The authors discuss the major themes of the folktales, especially that of the wicked stepmother.
- HRAF PubDate
- 2000
- Region
- North America
- Sub Region
- Regional, Ethnic and Diaspora Cultures
- Document Type
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- Ian Skoggard ; 1999
- Field Date
- 1977
- Coverage Date
- 1903-1982
- Coverage Place
- Faller, Italy and Detroit, Mich., United States
- Notes
- Elizabeth Mathias and Richard Raspa ; foreword by Roger D. Abrahams
- Includes 22 tales as told by Clementina Todesco
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 309-313) and indexes
- LCCN
- 85010659
- LCSH
- Italian Americans