Two women (novel)
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| Author | Alberto Moravia |
|---|---|
| Original title | La Ciociara |
| Translator | A Davidson |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
| Genre(s) | War novel |
| Publisher | Secker & Warburg & Penguin Books |
| Released | 1958 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 340 p. (hardback edition) & 416 p. (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | NA & ISBN 0-586-05702-1 (paperback edition) |
Two Women (Orig. title in Italian is La Ciociara) is a 1958 Italian language novel by Alberto Moravia. It tells the story of a woman trying to protect her teenaged daughter from the horrors of war. When both are raped, the daughter suffers a nervous breakdown. A Film based on the novel starred Sophia Loren, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Eleonora Brown, Carlo Ninchi and Andrea Checchi.
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[edit] Plot summary
A Daughter and her Mother fight to survive in Rome during the Second World War. Cesira, a widowed Roman shopkeeper, and Rosetta, a naive teenager of haunting beauty and devout faith. When the German army prepares to enter Rome, Cesira packs a few provisions, sews her life savings into the seams of her dress, and flees south with Rosetta to her native province of Ciociara, a poor, mountainous region famous for providing the domestic servants of Rome. For nine months the two women endure hunger, cold, and filth as they await the arrival of the Allied forces. But the liberation when it comes, brings unexpected tragedy. On their way home the pair are attacked and Rosetta brutally raped by a group of Allied Moroccan soldiers. This act of violence so embitters Rosetta that she falls numbly into a life of prostitution. In his story of two women Moravia offers up an intimate portrayal of the anguish and destruction wrought by war, as devastating behind the lines as it is on the battlefield.
[edit] Characters in "Two women"
- Cesira – the mother a widowed shopkeeper from Rome
- Rosetta – her teenage daughter
[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
A movie was adapted by Vittorio De Sica and Cesare Zavattini from the novel by Alberto Moravia. It was directed by De Sica. It starred Sophia Loren.
La Ciociara was remade for television in 1988. It was adapted by Diana Gould, Lidia Ravera, Dino Risi and Bernardino Zapponi. It was directed by Risi and starred Loren, Robert Loggia, Leonardo Ferrantini, Dario Ghirardi and Sydney Penny.
[edit] External links
- Two Women at the Internet Movie Database
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