Ippolito Nievo’s poisonous pen

Abstract

This article explores the role of pharmacy in Ippolito Nievo’s literary work, with particular attention to his journalistic writings as well as his debut novel Anti-afrodisiaco per l’amor platonico. Nievo frequently turns to pharmaceutical metaphors as a means of reflecting on the ambivalent power of the written word. As I demonstrate, the figure of the counter-poison in particular constitutes for Nievo an important model for thinking about how writers might reconcile an ethical and political vision with the exigencies of the market – in other words, how the potentially ‘poisonous’ aspects of popular literature could be harnessed for good. By situating Nievo within the context of contemporary Italian print culture, this article sheds light on how his works engage with and respond to widespread anxieties about popular fiction.

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