Bleak and sanguine: rosy things of flesh

For a reconnaissance of female characters in the theatre of Rosso di San Secondo

Abstract

1924 is the year of censure for Rosso di San Secondo’s play Una cosa di carne(A thing of flesh). In response to the censorship the author accompanies the drama by a Prelude with which he declares that whorehouses are normally accepted by society, therefore it’s ridicolous that is not accepted its fictional representation. The protagonist Micaela is a prostitute – the thing of flesh – but she is also a tridimensional human being that loves and desires to be a mother, instead the male character needs to label the women only like wife/mother or prostitute. However, for the author Micaela is precisely made of flesh: neither an angel nor a devil, just human.