SILVANA
ANNA: What is the most special relationship you have with a woman in your life?
SILVANA: The most important relationship is with my sister, Emma, who is three years older than me, we’ve shared in a special way moments of our lives. Together, we’ve learned to embrace a certain lightness, humor, and even self-irony. We grew up in a fairly strict, very Catholic family, one might even say a bit narrow-minded, there are four girls and one boy in the family, which didn’t exactly make life easy for anyone. But with a bit of humor, everything shrinks down to size, and life becomes a bit easier.
A: How did you learn to be self-ironic?
S: I really enjoy authors who cultivate this ironic perspective on the world.
A: Why did you move to Milan?
S: My village is in a valley in the province of Sondrio, between Bormio and Livigno. It’s a village with about sixty residents. When it’s not tourist season, the village empties out, it gives you the impression of a deserted place, really, now they’ve started doing things to stay connected, like playing burraco in a parish hall…
I did pretty well in school, and as Guccini says, “...son della razza mia la prima che ha studiato” (“I’m the first of my kind that studied”). So, I went to boarding school with the nuns, I felt like a fish out of water, but I didn’t suffer much. I was the third child in the family, and, you know, the enthusiasm is spent on the firstborns, and later on the only boy, who came after me. So I didn’t really mind being away.
A: Then you went to university in Milan?
S: Yes, I struggled at first, but I always pretended to feel comfortable and eventually, I did. I remember being struck by a phrase: “When you don’t have courage, act as if you do, and little by little, you’ll find it.” It gives the impression that I’m a very confident person, but in reality, I’m not.
A: What did you decide to study?
S: Philosophy. But at the time, there was a great need for teachers, and it was relatively easy to become one. So I started teaching at 19.
A: What did you learn from your years of teaching?
S: I learned that it’s not about loading students with knowledge and facts, it’s about recognizing that you have people in front of you, listening to everyone equally and not letting your preferences show, even if they’re inevitable.
A: What would you change about the education system?
S: I’d change the increasingly selective and classist methods we’re leaning toward, I’ve noticed there’s a tendency to abandon schools with too many foreign students because parents feel their own children will be penalized… I’d probably clash with many parents if I were still teaching.
A: Which female authors have been most significant to you? Whom do you relate to the most?
S: Marguerite Yourcenar, for her ability to always find the feminine—like in Memoirs of Hadrian, where she uncovers the feminine side of men and makes them seem more real, more human. I also see myself in Annie Ernaux, a writer from my generation, through whom I can revisit not just my personal evolution but also the great changes of our time.
A: In theater, where do you find the most profound lessons?
S: In Emma Dante, a Sicilian director who subjects aspects of her life and the lives of women to fierce critique. She helps you grasp the idea of power.
A: How does theater make you feel?
S: I don’t go to the theater to clear my mind; I go to think about myself. I experience theater the way it was during the time of Greek tragedies—without sounding presumptuous. Theater puts great passions on display, and by experiencing them, it prevents me from succumbing to them in my own life; you experience catharsis there.
A: What would you change about the narrative surrounding women in Italy?
S: I think neither women nor men have a correct narrative about them right now. We’re living in a period where the blame is always placed on men, and I don’t think that’s a healthy approach. Things have degenerated greatly from a socio-cultural standpoint in Italy, I worry about the future of the Italian population, it feels deeply immature to me. I believe the feminist movement, which has achieved important milestones like divorce and abortion rights, must continue to evolve. We’ve become more like men to reach their level of power just look at politics and the fact that our female Prime Minister calls herself Il Presidente del Consiglio (using masculine pronouns).
We can’t afford to take a step back because we’d return to being seamstresses and housewives. I probably already miss parts of the world we’re living in if they’re not brought to me by the news… but as for people who bother me, I’ve already firmly closed the door on them.
A: How would you define yourself on a personal level?
S: Here’s another quote, I can’t remember who said it: “One of the mistakes people make is defining themselves by what they’ve done.” I define myself by the thousands of projects I had and pursued over time but didn’t realize because I’m also those things. There’s always something more behind me.