Verga Response – “The She-Wolf”

Even though Maricchia had all the qualifications of a good wife – “her fine linen in a chest and her good land under the sun” (3) – no man wanted to marry her because of her mother. Pina’s undesirable reputation held her back. Once Nanni married Maricchia, he realized that he still had to tolerate Pina, which made him unhappy in the relationship. If Pina were to have left the couple, they may have had a happy marriage, but she could not suppress her temptations and neither could Nanni.

            Most of the town hated Pina because of her promiscuous ways, but Nanni could not resist her. Nanni and Pina’s relationship has many similarities to that between Fosca and Giorgio in Tarchetti’s Passion. Fosca is a woman with an ugly face, but beautiful hair and eyes. Verga’s description of Pina includes “superb tresses” (7) and the “[eyes] of the she-wolf, whenever they peered into his, they made him lose his body and soul” (8). Also, Maricchia has a role similar to Clara’s in Passion; she is the obstacle between the two lovers who think they should be together.

Verga could have been making a statement about Fosca, as he wrote “The She-Wolf” several years after Tarchetti published Passion. Verga believes Fosca should remain an ugly character through the end of the novel. In the conclusion of Passion, Fosca becomes a more relatable character once Giorgio falls in love with her, but according to Verga, the man should resist temptation and stay faithful to his wife.