Figli della malinconia e della notte : Exploring Anna Maria Ortese’s Sprites and Sorrowful Childlike Creatures

This article explores a recurring literary archetype in the fantastic universe of Anna Maria Ortese: the sorrowful, childlike figure, with particular focus on the sprite (folletto). Beginning with Il Monaciello di Napoli (1940), Ortese traces a genealogy of suffering spirits that extends across her oeuvre. The contribution concentrates on two later stories, ‘Con la testa fa sempre di no’ (1973) and ‘Folletto a Genova’ (1987), where melancholic sprites are tied to domestic life and the disenchantment of modernity. Initially resisting human cruelty, these liminal beings gradually succumb to neglect by their masters. These characters also serve to demonstrate the human estrangement from the ‘antica natura del mondo’. The article ultimately situates these childlike figures within Ortese’s broader repertoire of suffering martyrs — yet capable of resistance in a world on the brink of losing its enchantment — outlining the structural function they fulfil in her literary universe.