Don Ildebrando w świetle ‘iettatury’. Próba interpretacji etnologicznej opowiadania Gustawa Herlinga-Grudzińskiego
Don Ildebrando and ‘iettatura’

Summary/Abstract: This article contextualises the spell-casting superstition of iettatura within the culture of the Italian South (Italia Meridionale), and confronts Gustaw Herling-Grudziński’s short story Don Ildebrando with the secondary literature. Discussing iettatura from an ethnological perspective, Przybylska demonstrates the similar views held by Herling-Grudziński and de Martin. Moreover, she points out a stylistic correspondence of Don Ildebrando with Niccola Valletta’s work. Herling-Grudziński’s work is juxtaposed with discussions of iettatura, such as Benedetto Croce’s commentary in the periodical Quaderni della Critica, or Alexandre Dumas’s Il Corricolo. Przybylska explores the ways in which the author’s theoretical knowledge informed his fictional universe, and analyses the motif of the eyes and the representation of space. Finally, she discusses the protagonists, emphasising their psychical reactions as rooted in their belief in iettatura. In closing remarks, Przybylska evaluates the narrator’s role in rendering the phenomenon of iettatura more appealing.

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