Consciousness, Literature and the Arts
Archive
Volume 9 Number 3, December 2008
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Gundle, Stephen. . Bellissima: Feminine Beauty and the Idea of Italy. London: Yale University Press, 2007, 301 pgs. ISBN 978-0-300-12378-6, $45.00 (hardback).
Reviewed by
Bergen Community College
(I am a theoretical psychologist with a professional background in the areas of cognition and psychobiology. This book has expanded my understanding of how a complex idea-feminine beauty-can be embedded in a cultural, political and economic history.)
Stephen Gundle has written an historical account of the deep-seated significance of feminine beauty to Italian cultural, political and economic identity. It is a piece that masterfully intertwines the particulars of each of these dimensions with an ongoing obsession by the Italians with the trademark beauty of its women. This beauty, at times, transcends any particular physical attributes (even those described as typically Italian such as dark-hair, olive skin, and a full bosom), while at other times it emphatically “cannot“. Either way, there is always a pointed and consistent effort by Italians throughout this span of history to invent over and over again an iconic feminine image of their homeland that rouses the Italian male imagination. Here, the timeline begins, essentially, in the eighteenth century (during the Romantic period) and continues into the beginning of the twenty-first century.
Early on, the feminine beauty of the Italian woman was to encapsulate the beauty of the country as a whole. “In order to lure men into identification with the state…female figures…often with marked erotic appeal-were employed.“ (p. 7) It was expected that they would embody in their physical attributes and personality traits the ways in which Italians view themselves as a people. This idea was notably expressed through female literary characters. Some examples include Corinne (author De Stael)_who is dark-haired, graceful, and refined; Duchess Sanseverina (author Stendhal) who is passionate and earthy; Graziella (author De Lamartine) who is dark and attractive; and Lucia (author Manzoni) who is dark-haired, with goodness and godliness.
At the same time, the idea of feminine beauty was expressed politically as regal versus working class. The former was exemplified by Queen Margherita who was pale and fair-haired, while the latter came in the form of dark-haired peasant girls. “In Italy, the duality reflected the instabilities that were inherent in the attempt to create such a system rather than its successful achievement.” (p. 33) In addition, fashion sense of this Queen contributed greatly to her image as a cultural symbol of feminine beauty. “…the many comments on the queen’s dresses, jewels and appearance show how Margherita’s visual appearance was related to…commerce. The attention she received was…fuelled by a growing commercial sphere.” (p. 40) Indeed, into the late nineteenth century , feminine beauty become increasingly commercialized. During this time, singer, actress, and later beauty consultant Lina Cavalieri was considered the one Italian woman who encapsulated the beauty of the country. She was a young, lower class, dark-haired and dark-eyed girl from the Trastevere region. “Cavaliere enjoyed renown at a time when an extreme series of technical, social and cultural changes were taking place. As one of the first multi media international stars, she occupied a place at the intersection of these innovations. The discourse about her beauty was underpinned by the rise of the actress and the performer at the expanse of the royal or aristocratic figures…” (p. 59)
The rise of the modern woman came gradually as more women entered the public sphere as cinema actresses and as entertainers in general. This rise was linked to the burgeoning popularity of cosmetics, clothes and magazines. “Family, church and community pressure were no longer the sole forces shaping the way most women presented themselves to the world.” (p. 82) During this time, Hollywood began to have a greater influence on Italian cinema and its actresses, both in terms of how female characters physically looked as well as how they related to their male counterparts and how they were viewed by them. In fact, Mussolini insisted that traditional Italian female roles and dress remain present in public imagery and presentation. Within the collective consciousness of the Italians during the Fascist era was a deep need to depict feminine beauty in ways that combined scant traces of modernity with heavy doses of nostalgia.
Italian actresses of the 1950’s such as Silvana Mangano, Gina Lollobrigida, and Sophia Loren were selected as dark-haired, voluptuous icons of feminine beauty who, through the “female-centered stories of rebirth” (p. 145), symbolically combined the past with the coming of a “new” Italy. “This connection established in post-war cinema between the female body and the landscape was crucial insofar as it formed a basis for the ‘rebirth’ …Mangano…was presented as a creature of the earth, an archtype whose generous figure, overt sensuality and instinctive simplicity lent her a primitive, primeval quality.” (p. 145) In addition, beauty contests such as Miss Italy (in which these actresses competed),
became a popular competition for routinely selecting a young woman who combined the modern and the traditional in her physical appearance, demeanor, and expression of primarily domestic aspirations.
From the 1950’s to the present day, public images of women in film and television have become increasingly erotic (even pornophraphic in some instances). Contemporary Italian actresses such as Monica Bellucci, have embraced their sensuality to a point that being a fully naked figure in front of the camera feels natural. These days, Italy turns, once again, to its iconic woman-the Bella Italiana-as the premier representative of the collective consciousness of the people.