Two women (novel)
Encyclopedia
Two Women is a 1958 Italian language
novel by Alberto Moravia
. It tells the story of a woman trying to protect her teenaged daughter from the horrors of war. When both are raped, the daughter suffers a nervous breakdown.
A film
based on the novel starred Sophia Loren
, Jean-Paul Belmondo
, Eleonora Brown
, Carlo Ninchi
and Andrea Checchi
.
during the Second World War
. Cesira, a widowed Roman shopkeeper, and Rosetta, a naive teenager of beauty and devout faith.
When the German army
prepares to enter Rome, Cesira packs a few provisions, sews her life savings into the seams of her dress, and flees south with Rosetta to her native province of Ciociara, a poor, mountainous region famous for providing the domestic servants of Rome.
For nine months the two women endure hunger, cold, and filth as they await the arrival of the Allied forces. But the liberation, when it comes, brings unexpected tragedy.
On their way home, the pair are attacked and Rosetta brutally raped by a group of Goumier
s (Moroccan allied soldiers serving in the French Army
). This act of violence so embitters Rosetta that she falls numbly into a life of prostitution.
In his story of two women, Moravia offers up an intimate portrayal of the anguish and destruction wrought by war, as devastating behind the lines as it is on the battlefield.
and Cesare Zavattini
from the novel by Alberto Moravia
. It was directed by De Sica. It starred Sophia Loren
.
La Ciociara was remade for television in 1988. It was adapted by Diana Gould
, Lidia Ravera
, Dino Risi and Bernardino Zapponi
. It was directed by Risi and starred Loren, Robert Loggia
, Leonardo Ferrantini, Dario Ghirardi and Sydney Penny
.
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
novel by Alberto Moravia
Alberto Moravia
Alberto Moravia, born Alberto Pincherle was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation, and existentialism....
. It tells the story of a woman trying to protect her teenaged daughter from the horrors of war. When both are raped, the daughter suffers a nervous breakdown.
A film
Two Women
Two Women is a 1960 Italian film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of a woman trying to protect her young daughter from the horrors of war. The film stars Sophia Loren, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Eleonora Brown, Carlo Ninchi and Andrea Checchi...
based on the novel starred Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
, Jean-Paul Belmondo
Jean-Paul Belmondo
Jean-Paul Belmondo is a French actor initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s.-Career:Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, west of Paris, Belmondo did not perform well in school, but developed a passion for boxing and football."Did you box professionally very long?" "Not very long...
, Eleonora Brown
Eleonora Brown
Eleonora Brown was an actress in Italian films in the 1960s. She started at age thirteen as Sophia Loren's daughter in Two Women. She is a 1982 graduate of John Cabot University.-External links:...
, Carlo Ninchi
Carlo Ninchi
Carlo Ninchi was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 128 films between 1931 and 1963.He was born in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, and died in Rome.-Selected filmography:* I Love You Only...
and Andrea Checchi
Andrea Checchi
Andrea Checchi was a prolific Italian film actor.Born in Florence, Checchi appeared in over 150 films in his lengthy career, which spanned from 1934 to his death in 1974...
.
Plot summary
A daughter and her mother fight to survive in RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Cesira, a widowed Roman shopkeeper, and Rosetta, a naive teenager of beauty and devout faith.
When the German army
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
prepares to enter Rome, Cesira packs a few provisions, sews her life savings into the seams of her dress, and flees south with Rosetta to her native province of Ciociara, a poor, mountainous region famous for providing the domestic servants of Rome.
For nine months the two women endure hunger, cold, and filth as they await the arrival of the Allied forces. But the liberation, when it comes, brings unexpected tragedy.
On their way home, the pair are attacked and Rosetta brutally raped by a group of Goumier
Goumier
Moroccan Goumiers were soldiers who served in auxiliary units attached to the French Army of Africa, between 1908 and 1956. The term Goumier was also occasionally used to designate native soldiers in the French army of the French Sudan and Upper Volta during the colonial era.-Description:The word...
s (Moroccan allied soldiers serving in the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
). This act of violence so embitters Rosetta that she falls numbly into a life of prostitution.
In his story of two women, Moravia offers up an intimate portrayal of the anguish and destruction wrought by war, as devastating behind the lines as it is on the battlefield.
Characters in Two women
- Cesira – the mother a widowed shopkeeper from Rome
- Rosetta – her teenage daughter
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
A movie was adapted by Vittorio De SicaVittorio de Sica
Vittorio De Sica was an Italian director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement....
and Cesare Zavattini
Cesare Zavattini
Cesare Zavattini was an Italian screenwriter and one of the first theorists and proponents of the Neorealist movement in Italian cinema.-Brief biography:...
from the novel by Alberto Moravia
Alberto Moravia
Alberto Moravia, born Alberto Pincherle was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation, and existentialism....
. It was directed by De Sica. It starred Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
.
La Ciociara was remade for television in 1988. It was adapted by Diana Gould
Diana Gould
Diana Gould is a screenwriter for television and a short story author.-Positions Held:Berrenger's*Producer & Writer Dynasty*Producer *Story Writer Family*Writer Knot's Landing...
, Lidia Ravera
Lidia Ravera
Lidia Ravera is an Italian writer, journalist, essayist and screenwriter.She became famous in 1976 for Porci con le ali, co-written by Marco Lombardo Radice, a novel dealing with the myths and ideals of the years around 1968.-Bibliography:*Porci con le ali *Ammazzare il tempo *Bambino...
, Dino Risi and Bernardino Zapponi
Bernardino Zapponi
Bernardino Zapponi was an Italian novelist and screenwriter best known for his films written in collaboration with Federico Fellini.- Biography :Zapponi was born in Rome in 1927...
. It was directed by Risi and starred Loren, Robert Loggia
Robert Loggia
Robert Loggia is an American film and television actor and director.- Early life :Loggia, an Italian American, was born on Staten Island, the son of Elena Blandino, a homemaker, and Benjamin Loggia, a shoemaker, both of whom were born in Sicily, Italy...
, Leonardo Ferrantini, Dario Ghirardi and Sydney Penny
Sydney Penny
Sydney Penny is an American Daytime Emmy-nominated actress best known for the roles of Julia Santos Keefer on the soap opera All My Children and Samantha "Sam" Kelly on the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.She is of part Cherokee descent and raised in Chatsworth, California, the daughter...
.