The Art of Joy

The Art of Joy (L'arte della gioia) is a historical Italian novel by Goliarda Sapienza. Written over a nine-year period, the novel was finished in 1976 but was rejected by Italian publishers because of its length (of 540 pages) and its portrayal of a woman unrestrained by conventional morality and traditional feminine roles. It details a woman’s pursuit of cultural, financial and sexual independence in early-20th-century Sicily, during which she sleeps with both men and women, commits incest and murders a nun. It was only published after Sapienza’s death, with the success of its French, German and Spanish editions earning Sapienza comparisons to D.H. Lawrence and Stendhal. Plot The novel follows a woman, Modesta, who is born on 1 January 1900 and her experiences though her life in the twentieth century. The text is written for the most part in the first person (by Modesta), but sometimes also in the third person, especially in the first part of the novel. Part one Modesta, the main character, lives with her mother and her disabled sister in impoverished conditions in rural Sicily. Modesta has her first sexual encounter in the first few pages, with an older boy from town. She is then molested by a man who claims to be her biological father in the midst of a fire that kills her mother and sister. Modesta is sent to a convent, where she is educated. Affectionate exchanges with Leonora, the mother superior lead to an altercation and a simulated suicide attempt in an attempt by Modesta in order to avoid being sent to an orphanage. The only friend she has at the convent is the gardener Mimmo. The death of Leonara, who had mentioned Modesta in her will, opens to the protagonist the possibility of moving in with Leonara’s noble and wealthy family, the Brandifortis. Initially Modesta believed she would have to take vows in order to lead a dignified life. However during her stay at the family’s villa, Modesta realizes that she can stay even without having to take vows. She develops a lesbian relationship begins with Beatrice, who is Leonora’s daughter and granddaughter of the elderly princess who heads the family, Gaia. Modesta begins to help Gaia in managing the family's affairs and in this way wins her trust. For this reason, Gaia organizes for Modesta a marriage of convenience with her disabled son Ippolito. Modesta discovers culture with Ippolito’s uncle Jacopo and how to manipulate people thanks to Gaia.