Italy: Writing to Belong

The article considers the idea that different societies may be dominated by different value structures and that the nature of these values will affect attitudes to writing and indeed the whole role of writing in the lives of writers. It considers the hypothesis that in Italy, where the value of belonging is paramount, writing works of literary may be a way of assuming a particular role in the peer group to which the writer seeks to belong, or to consolidate his or her belonging. Examples are given from Dante to Elena Ferrante.