Charles Dickensās popularity is undoubtedly due to his literary merits; a significant role, however, was certainly played by his capability to depict multi-faceted aspects of humanity. In his career as a novelist, journalist, and travel writer, he was highly concerned with the nature of society; he was a sharp observer who looked at the world from new angles and re-imagined places and characters.
This work aims to bring under critical scrutiny the epistemological, creative, and aesthetic impulses evident in the travel book Pictures from Italy (1998).1 It explores Dickensās view of the country and his techniques to feature alterity. It argues that the writer strays from travel writing conventions and adopts a personal manner of presentation. It debates that he explores transnational identities by experimenting with the visual potentialities of magic lanterns and dioramas. A corpus methodology alongside the notion of intersectionality2 (Hill Collins and Bilge 2016) helps display that the Italians are the subject matter of Dickensās quest. The book sheds new light on the writerās intention of showing their multidimensionality and heterogeneity that were, instead, made invisible by single-axis category representations.
The second chapter investigates the British lure in Italy and examines the function of travel writing in the construction of transnational identities. It discusses that travel books shaped the image of Italy over the centuries and contributed to setting a canon of representation; a review of their features helps understand Dickensās innovations in Pictures from Italy . It debates that travelling in Italy was a vast intercultural experience that influenced both the British, who visited the country, and the Italians, who came into contact with them. It argues that travelling in Italy was an essential part of the education of the British, who came in contact with history and the classical world through the exploration of cities, works of art and culture. It claims that their presence in the country was also a driving force for the Italians, who began to observe themselves against the parameters of difference. This chapter explores the crucial role of travel books in the construction of identity; it argues that travellers focused their accounts on places and art but that they considered the Italiansā cumbersome figures. The analysis of their writings reveals that the local population appeared to them dissonant with their previous aesthetic ideas and for this reason it was shadowed in their accounts. These premises aim to shed light on Dickensās description in Pictures from Italy and see whether, and to what extent, it was innovative.
The third chapter debates that the writerās acquaintance with the expatriate Giuseppe Mazzini contributed to offering him broad insight into the country and investigates his commitment in support of Italian independence. These sides of Dickensās engagement with Italy aim to clarify his declaration in Pictures from Italy of not dealing with political issues. It discusses that the writer indeed pays service to Italy as he shows its social conditions āwithout indulging in political diatribesā3 (Gephardt 2014). Unlike other travel writers, Dickens explores structures that help define transnational identities. He was aware of conventions, however, he distances from them and focuses on the Italians. He refuses to encapsulate them into a homogeneous group but connects them to large institutional and structural systems. Dickensās representation suggests that the reader should look beyond stereotypes and understand the reasons for the Italiansā contemporary decline. The most innovative aspect of the work is that Dickens goes beyond the concept of national identity and focuses on a broad concept of humanity. He offers fresh pictures of Italy, where the borders between perception and invention are blurred but that suggest an unusual idea of complexity. When Dickens visited Italy for the first time in 1844ā1845, the country was for him already inscribed with traces of previous texts but this did not prevent him from looking at it with new eyes. The novelty of his travel book relies on his concern with the social lives of contemporary inhabitants; he questions the traditional concept of the picturesque associated with Italy and firmly states that poverty and misery are ugly everywhere (PI, 166).
The investigation of Dickensās relationship with Italy continues with a close reading of his letters, which display aspects of his journey. The letters unveil his impressions and opinions and highlight that he not only tries to grasp the link with the past but also attempts to shed light on aspects of the contemporary society. Furthermore, the cross-examination of the letters and Pictures from Italy casts light on his role of traveller and social commentator in contact with new cultural paradigms.
The fourth chapter argues that Dickensās concern for the Italians urges him to find new modes to depict the country. It claims that Pictures from Italy departs from travel writing conventions for style and content. The writer experiments with the opportunities offered by pre-filmic forms of representation; he presents an account of Italy that is midway between a documentary report and a diary. It also debates that Pictures from Italy exhibits the codes of visual understanding implicit in optical instruments, which help display exceptional views of the country. It discusses that Dickens suggests a new way of looking at Italy and that he shows an open attitude when facing alterity. In the book, landscapes are the settings to investigate personal stories and human relations.
In the fifth chapter, a corpus analysis illustrates how textual data help test and validate previous theoretical claims about Pictures from Italy . Practical examples of the integration between linguistics and literary analysis suggest that keyword research may be useful as a first step towards obtaining an overview of what the text is about and may contribute to supporting or contradicting critical claims. It argues that the corpus approach highlights the prominent role of the Italians in the book and that the analysis of collocations offers cues for reading the text from different angles. Quantitative and qualitative analysis proves Dickensās concern for peop...