The Structures of Conduct Literature in Post-Unification Italy La Marchesa Colombi’s La gente per bene, Anna Vertua Gentile’s Come devo comportarmi?, and Matilde Serao’s Saper vivere

This essay examines three works of conduct literature written by women in post-unification Italy. Following an introduction that contextualizes the production of female-authored conduct literature in the aftermath of unification, the essay analyses the three works, observing their structures in depth. Structural innovations in conduct literature are indicative of ideological change and reveal the gradual legitimization of a collectively elaborated, distinctively female perspective on the world.