Overview

Beyond Pinocchio is a meticulous examination of renowned author Carlo Collodi’s primers and his debunking Italian bourgeois propaganda ‘from within’. In his government-approved books for primary school, Collodi offered a view of society that was dissonant with the one promoted by Italian middle class propaganda in its very core values: the family, the State, and the cultural homogenization. Collodi’s reputation as a supporter of bourgeois values has remained crystallized for decades, and even his most famous character, Pinocchio, has been seen as embodying those values for many years. Recently, however, this reputation has been questioned, thereby reframing the wooden puppet within an anti-establishment context. With this book, Andrea Pagani proves how even Collodi’s primers deserve a careful re-reading, throwing light on an author too quickly labelled as an uncritical son of his times. At a time when a newborn State was aiming towards a standardized national community, Collodi wrote of a multicultural Italy, where the family is an empty concept, and linguistic diversity is an asset rather than a hindrance.

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9781666917321

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Beyond Pinocchio makes a strikingly original contribution to the study of the relationship of children’s literature to nation building through its illumination of the lesser-known works of Carlo Collodi. Andrea Pagani’s analysis of the Giannettino collection casts new light on the intersection of pedagogical texts and the shaping of Italian national identity and will be of broad interest to scholars of children’s literature, history, education, and politics. -- Michelle J. Smith, Monash University The appeal of the stringless puppet with the growing nose is enduring, as several new film adaptations, a new English translation, and Giorgio Agamben’s recent analysis all attest. Beyond Pinocchio invites readers into the treasure trove of other children’s books penned by Carlo Collodi, highlighting their wealth of irony, humor, and strategic political “dissonance.” Drawing on an array of primary documents, this engaging study offers readers a richly textured account of the many vexed debates that Italy faced in the post-unification years: the conflicts with the Catholic Church, the negotiations around a standard language, the political practice of trasformismo, changing family structures, the development of educational infrastructure, and the enduring power of local customs, festivals, and cuisine in a new national context. Beyond Pinocchio shows how Collodi, rather than merely toe the State line in favor of a homogenized, middle-class national culture, instead found creative ways to valorize the plurality of Italy’s many cultures and to urge young readers to question pre-conceived truths. This accessible study will appeal to scholars and students of children’s literature, of Italian history and culture, and of the construction of national identities. -- Maria Truglio, Pennsylvania State University

Author Information

Andrea Pagani is teaching associate at Monash University, and radio broadcaster at Australian public radio SBS.

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