Autobiographical themes inform much of Sibilla Aleramo's literary production, from her first published work, the revolutionary Una donna (A Woman, 1907; translated as A Woman at Bay, 1908), to her subsequent novels, novellas, poetry, journalistic writings, and diaries. Through the story of a woman--herself in several vicarious representations--and most important through the creation of a singular and unusual "mythic body," however, Aleramo also aimed at tracing the history of women during a specific time. She wanted to redetermine categories and definitions of gender, in order that literature and life might merge irrevocably into one large, alluring, and disquieting text.

Un libro, il libro . . . Ah, vagheggiavo di scriverlo, no! Ma mi struggevo, certe volte, contemplando nel mio spirito la visione di quel libro che sentivo necessario, di un libro d'amore e di dolore, che fosse straziante e insieme fecondo, inesorabile e pietoso, che mostrasse al mondo intero l'anima femminile moderna, per...