Corinne, or Italy (Corinne ou l'Italie in French) is a book written by Germaine de Staël, a writer from Geneva and France. It was published in 1807. The story follows a love affair between an Italian poet named Corinne and Lord Oswald Nelvil, an English nobleman. The novel describes and discusses Italy, its history, culture, and the ways people live and behave there. Inspired by Enlightenment ideas, the book is part of the French Romanticism movement. It is Germaine de Staël's most well-known work and the first romantic story focused on beauty and art that was not written in German.
Background to the book
Madame de Staël was very interested in Italy for many years. She learned about Italy through her friendships with Italian artists, diplomats, and political refugees. She also heard about Italy from close friends who had visited, including Charles Victor de Bonstetten, Jean Charles Léonard de Sismondi, and Wilhelm von Humboldt. In 1802, she thought about traveling to Italy, but she chose to go to Germany instead because Germany had more intellectual and political activity.
After being exiled from France by Napoleon in October 1803 because of her open opposition to the First Empire, she began writing her book On Germany (De l'Allemagne). However, in early February 1804, she attended a performance of the opera La Saalnix, which tells the story of a nymph and a knight who cannot be together because the nymph is immortal. This inspired her to write a novel instead of finishing On Germany. The novel became Corinne, or Italy.
To prepare for writing Corinne, Madame de Staël traveled to Italy starting in December 1804. Her journey through Italy influenced the path of the characters Corinne and Oswald in the novel. She traveled with her three children and their tutor, August Wilhelm Schlegel. She visited Rome, Turin, where her friend the Swiss historian de Sismondi joined her, Milan, where she stayed with the famous poet Vincenzo Monti for about twenty days, and then traveled through the Marches, Ancona, and Loreto. She returned to Rome on February 3, 1805, during a flood of the Tiber River, and stayed there for two weeks.
She then visited Campania, the coast, Mount Vesuvius, and Naples. She returned to Rome on March 13, where she attended Holy Week celebrations. In May, she visited Florence and Venice, then returned to Milan in early June before going back to Switzerland to her home, Coppet Castle. During her trip, she wrote notes in several notebooks, recording details about Italian landscapes, monuments, people, and customs. She also wrote about events she saw, such as an English warship in the Bay of Naples, a plague outbreak near her travels, and carnivals and religious ceremonies. These observations helped her write Corinne.
Plot
The novel Corinne, or Italy is divided into twenty books, each containing chapters. The story begins in winter 1794 to 1795. Lord Oswald Nelvil, a Scottish nobleman, travels to Italy on the advice of doctors and friends to recover from health issues caused partly by the death of his father. Oswald believes he is responsible for his father’s death because he caused him worry for reasons not fully explained at the start of the novel. He also feels guilty for not reaching his father in time to apologize and gain forgiveness before his death. Troubled by his sadness and guilt, Oswald struggles to enjoy life again. He joins the army but waits for his regiment to be called to action, which does not happen. During this time, he meets the Comte d'Erfeuil, a Frenchman who fled the French Revolution. The Comte is witty and talkative, which briefly distracts Oswald from his sorrow, though he later shows selfishness. Together, they travel to Italy and arrive in Rome during cold, gloomy weather.
The next day, Oswald wakes to find the city celebrating the crowning of Corinne, a famous poet and artist. Intrigued, he attends the ceremony and becomes deeply impressed by Corinne’s talent. With the help of the Comte d'Erfeuil, Oswald meets Corinne at her home in Rome, where she hosts a literary salon. He also meets Prince Castel-Forte, Corinne’s close friend. Corinne shows interest in Oswald, while the Comte grows jealous of their connection but soon loses interest in her. Oswald hears Corinne recite poetry at her home and becomes increasingly drawn to her, even though he initially believes women should not live such an independent life.
Corinne invites Oswald to explore Rome and they discuss Italy and England, sharing their views on the differences between the two countries. They fall in love, but both are afraid of their feelings and hesitate to be happy together. They travel to Naples, where Oswald struggles with grief over his father’s death and fears his father would disapprove of his love for Corinne. Corinne, meanwhile, wants to keep her free, artistic life in Rome and worries about moving to England, where married women are expected to focus on household duties.
Gradually, Oswald and Corinne share their secrets. Oswald confesses that he once loved a French woman, Madame d'Arbigny, who tricked him into staying in France during the Revolution. When Oswald returned to England, he learned she was pregnant and nearly married her, but a fight with her suitor, the immoral Comte Raimond, revealed her deception. Oswald and the Comte fought a duel, and Oswald left for England after his father died, which led to his lifelong guilt. He also tells Corinne that his father had planned for him to marry Lucile Edgermond, the daughter of a friend. This revelation deeply affects Corinne.
Corinne and Oswald walk near Vesuvius, where the sight of lava and the volcano’s crater unsettles her. In turn, Corinne writes to Oswald about her past. She is actually Lucile Edgermond’s sister, who grew up in Italy before being taken to live with her uncle’s new wife, Lady Edgermond. Lady Edgermond neglected Corinne and tried to stop her from pursuing art, believing English women should focus on home life. Corinne felt trapped in the countryside and eventually escaped by pretending to die, sailing to Italy, and adopting the name Corinne, inspired by the ancient Greek poet Corinna. She also reveals that her uncle had once considered her a potential wife for Oswald but changed his mind in favor of Lucile. Oswald vows to return to England to understand why his father chose Lucile over Corinne and promises to stay with Corinne for at least three months.
On their way back to Rome, Oswald and Corinne grow closer. He nearly proposes to her multiple times and swears never to leave her. Corinne performs in an opera, La Fille de l'air, where she plays a powerful fairy. However, Oswald receives orders to return to England with his regiment and learns that rumors about his relationship with Corinne have spread. Though heartbroken, Corinne accepts his departure.
In England, Oswald finds his regiment delayed and visits the Edgermond home to convince Lady Edgermond to reveal Corinne’s true identity. He meets Lucile Edgermond again, whose beauty and shyness impress him. Lady Edgermond refuses his request and tells him a letter from his father, explaining his choice of Lucile over Corinne, was given to a friend named Mr. Dickson. Oswald reads the letter, which states his father believed Corinne would never be happy in England and would pull Oswald away from his homeland. Distressed, Oswald sees Lucile and Lady Edgermond repeatedly but decides not to marry either, choosing to remain single for now. He continues to demand that Lady Edgermond acknowledge Corinne as her daughter.
Later influence
Corinne influenced many later writers, including the British poet and essayist Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861) and Felicia Hemans. Hemans included a poem titled Corinna at the Capitol in The Literary Souvenir in 1827. Letitia Elizabeth Landon translated the odes for Isabel Hill’s version of the novel, which was first published in 1833. Landon also wrote a poem titled Corinne at the Cape of Misena for The Amulet in 1832.
Several paintings created in the early 19th century were inspired by Corinne. Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun painted a portrait of Madame de Staël as Corinne around 1808–1809. The French artist François Gérard painted a portrait between 1819 and 1821, inspired by the novel. The painting is titled Corinne at Cape Misenum and shows Madame de Staël, the author of the novel, dressed as Corinne.
In 1825, the Italian composer Gioachino Rossini created an opera buffa called Il viaggio a Reims (The Journey to Reims). The opera’s story was based on the novel by Madame de Staël. The opera premiered on June 19, 1825, at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris.