Etiqueta: Jose Abad Baena

In this novella from Renaissance philosopher Machiavelli, Pluto, the ruler of the underworld, decides to assess the validity of the claims of many recent male arrivals to hell that their wives are to blame for their misery. He sends Belfagor, one of his most trusted lieutanants, to Earth to investigate. Disguised as Roderigo of Castile, […]

Vividly capturing the sights, sounds, and rhythms of ordinary Italian life, Cavalleria rusticana—the inspiration for the world-famous opera of the same name—relates the story of a young man’s triumphal return from war—a return marred by the discovery that the woman he loves is engaged to another man. In this and other stories, Verga expertly depicts […]