Response to "The She-Wolf"

        In Verga’s short story, “The She-Wolf,” the protagonist, Pina, rebels against societal standards and gender roles. Her lack of religion and her masculine tendencies supplement her natural beauty. She challenges proper behavior, and her deliberate negation of public expectations gives her a dominant, unquestionable aura. This virile behavior leaves men powerless to her sexual temptations.
Pina openly rejects religion and performs manual labor in opposition to social conventions. This behavior augments the intrigue in her physical attractiveness. Pina dismisses religion, “never (going) to church, not at Easter, not at Christmas, not to hear Mass, not for confession” (3). Because of this, she is seen as evil, or relating to the devil. Her eyes are described as “devilish, and her “red lips” can “devour” and “(suck) the blood” of men. To guard themselves from evil, “women made the sign of the cross when they saw her pass” (3). Furthermore, “the priest refused to bring (someone) the Sacrament if (Pina) did not go out of the house” (9).  The absence of religion in her life is a resistance against collective ideals. Additionally, Pina works in the fields “with the men, and just like a man too” (5). This is another act of defiance against social gender roles. Pina refuses to play the woman’s expected role in society. She considers herself above the need for religion or social approval.
           Because of Pina’s rebellion against common principles, she possesses an all-powerful, unassailable air. Men are defenseless against her sexual promiscuity, because it is an unknown behavior. They do not know how to resist her sexual advances, and they succumb to her erotic mannerisms (3). Pina, “suck(s) the blood of . . .  sons and husbands in a flash, and pulls(s) them behind her skirt with a single glance of those devilish eyes, even if they were before the altar of Saint Agrippina” (3).  She even tempts a priest, “ a true servant of God,” with her sexual shamelessness, and he “lost his soul on account of her” (3). Her rejection of common, feminine behaviors for provocative, masculine directness gives her control over unsuspecting men. Even the man, Nanni, who is enticed repeatedly into sexual relations with Pina, is never able to resist her temptations. He “beg(s) to be sent to jail,” so as never to see Pina again, describing her as possessing “the temptation of hell!” (8; 7). He threatens to kill her if she ever returns to seduce him. However, his determination not to fall prey to her tactics is never accomplished. When he sees her boldly walking towards him, despite his “ax glistening in the sun,” his resolve is lost (9). Her “black eyes devour” him, once again, and the temptation overwhelms him (9). Pina’s obvious fearlessness, uncharacteristic of women, promotes sexual attraction in Nanni. Her refusal to adhere to social expectations and her masculine displays of power and strength excite men, and they helplessly succumb to her sexual temptations. By willingly ousting herself from social acceptance, she obtains all-powerful, superior qualities. These qualities overpower the men’s reason, and they are not able “to free (them)selve(s) from (her) spell” (8). Her blatant rejection of social conventions is how she acquires indomitable power over men.