Mythical characters in Staël’s <i>Corinne or Italy</i>

<p>I reflect upon our contemporary feminist implications of Germaine de Staël’s novel Corinne or Italy by focusing on its mythical characters. Previous studies have related Corinne, the novel’s female protagonist, to the classic figure of Sibyl in ancient Rome, an interpretation reinforced by painters such as Il Domenichino and Francois Gerard. However, even though this analysis can account for Corinne's beautiful appearance, mythical presence, and distinguished talent as an improvisor, I argue that it neglects one key element of the novel―that a woman of special talent cannot be happy in modern society because it allocates women to the strictly prescribed social roles of a good wife and mother.</p><p>Staël was actually inspired to write this novel after seeing a very popular German opera entitled Saal River Nymph. In this paper, I will demonstrate that Corinne is actually comparable to the main character of Saal River Nymph in many respects. I will analyze Staël’s reflection on German comedy in On Germany, her own famous literary and cultural criticism of Germany. In particular, I will draw attention to the fact that Staël found that this particular version of Saal River Nymph was in possession of not only magics but also the superior mind while cynically noting that the man who left the superior Saal River Nymph and ended up with an ordinary woman without specific talent was inevitable, since the couple were compatible in terms of intelligence and moral superiority. Staël then replaced this story in a nineteenth-century bourgeois novel and denounced the patriarchal system inherent in modern civil society. Thus, Staël’s opinion of Saal River Nymph does not have a medieval origin but remains very modern. For this reason, Staël’s Corinne or Italy successfully contrasts German romanticism in an Italian context. In addition, Staël focuses on the female protagonist’s inner dilemma about her quest for freedom as an artist rather than on her outer appearance.</p><p>Finally, this finding leads to the conclusion that, at the turn of the century, mythical characters did not exclusively serve the purpose of nationhood or volk. Female mythical characters such as the Saal River Nymph represented a universal feminist protest against a male-dominated society, as well as a male-centered parliamentary system and public opinion. As such, these characters serve as a bridge to our contemporary political values.</p>