Biblical Allusions in Natalia Ginzburg`s Writings as an Expression of Cultural Belonging

Natalia Ginzburg was brought up in Turin to a Jewish father and a Catholic mother. Both were atheists, socialists and anti-fascists.

Natalia married in July 1938 when the Race Law was enacted in Italy. Her husband, Leone Ginzburg was a founder of Freedom and Justice – an anti-fascist underground movement. Leone was captured by the Gestapo and tortured to death in February 1944. Natalia hid in convents, separated from her three small children.

Research on Natalia – including by Primo Levi - states that there is no connection between her Jewishness and her writing.

Two research articles by Enzo Siciliano and Silvio Banko only hint at a connection between Ginzburg`s heroines and some Biblical protagonists. Sergio Parussa mentions her willingness to give witness to the horrors inflicted on the Jews during the Second World War.

I show how Ginzburg uses Biblical connotations and propose a new interpretation to create a unique and original link to the canonised literature which gives a direct connection to her Jewish heritage.

1. From "All Our Yesterdays" comparison between
2. The old Jewish ladies and the story of Samson as well as the Gibbonites.
3. The death of Cenzo Rena and the sacrifice of Isaac

• The burning of the book of memory and burning the Book of Jeremiah

1. From The House and the City with the Book of Job - friendship as a proposal for human redemption.
2. "The Words We Use to Say" and the Book of Genesis – the importance of family relationships.