La Donna Suicida: Suicide as an Act of Feminist Protest in Boccaccio’s Decameron, Neera’s Lydia, and Aleramo’s Una donna.

Abstract

This thesis explores female suicide in Italian literature, focusing on three examples where the self-destructive act is committed as a type of feminist protest against an oppressive society: Ghismonda from IV.1 of Boccaccio's DECAMERON, Lydia from Neera's 1888 novel of the same name, and the titular everywoman from Sibilla Aleramo's UNA DONNA.