Abstract

The essay interprets Verga’s novel Il marito di Elena on the basis of a working hypothesis about the presence of a strong death instinct in the protagonist. The final murder is a substitution for suicide, i. e. for the annihilation, which Cesare Dorello aspires to. The structure of the essay is not properly psychoanalytic, although it makes use of a generically Freudian terminology. The author strengthens his hypothesis by a series of findings regarding the motif of self-destruction in other Verga’s characters, suggesting a global interpretation of Verga’s work in this key, and obviously referring to a future in-depth study.