Students studying European history will be especially receptive to Lampedusa's great mid-20th century novel, set during Italian unification and based in part on his family's history.

Study Guide for The Leopard by Giuseppe di Lampedusa

(originally created for a 10^th grade class in European Literature, taken by students simultaneously enrolled in AP European History)

Assignment One: Read “Historical Note” and “Introduction to the Prince,” pp. 13-62 (Pantheon Books, 1960).

1. What is the political-military situation in Sicily in May of 1860 when the novel opens? Notice how this situation intrudes on the rather idyllic existence of the Prince and his family (pp. 21-23).
2. What important information is learned about the Prince of Salina, Don Fabrizio Corbera, in the opening pages—about his stature, his ancestry, his avocation, and so forth?
3. Notice how Lampedusa uses the technique of a flashback to fill in additional information about Salina’s political position in Sicily. What can be inferred about Salina’s relationship with Ferdinand, the late Bourbon king of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies?
4. The dinner scene (p. 27 ff.) reveals a great deal about relationships within the Corbera family. What is learned about the Prince’s relationship with the Princess; with his heir, Francesco Paolo; and with his nephew, Tancredi? Why does the Prince ride into Palermo that evening? Why does he ask Father Pirrone to accompany him?
5. Why does Tancredi visit the Prince the following morning?
6. Who is Russo? What are his politics? What are the Prince’s views of the liberals and the coming coup d’etat? What does he think of the prediction of his accountant, Don Ciccio, of the “glorious new days” ahead for Sicily?
7. Notice all the mythological references and the importance accorded to Bendico, the Prince’s Great Dane. What do these add to the mood of the story?

Assignment Two: Read "Donnafugata," pp. 65-107.

1. What events have transpired “off stage” since the end of the last chapter? Why do you think Lampedusa treats the historical events in this fashion?
2. How have the historical events affected the Prince’s family?
3. Describe the family’s reception at Donnafugata. Who is Don Calogero Sedara and how have his fortunes changed?
4. There is another important dinner scene in this chapter. How does Lampedusa use the dinner party (p. 92 ff.) to illustrate the subtle changes in the Prince’s political and social standing since Garibaldi’s landing?
5. Who is Angelica? How do love and jealousy enter the novel as important themes in this chapter?

Journals: Write on one or two topics per reading assignment (one in depth, two in less depth). Other questions may occur to you. Write these down in your Journal, too, and bring them up in class.

Assignment Three: Read "The Troubles of Don Fabrizio," pp. 111-156.

1) Notice the simile with which the chapter opens.

2) What are the "troubles" referred to in the title of this chapter? How does Don Fabrizio react to the news of Tancredi's matrimonial intentions? How does the Princess react?

3) With what descriptive details does Lampedusa bring alive the hunting scene in this chapter? Explain the line at the bottom of p. 123: "Don Fabrizio and Don Ciccio had had their bit of fun, the former not only the pleasure of killing but also the solace of compassion."

4) How is the hunt scene metaphoric as well as literal? Note the resolute advance of the ants (p. 125) and Don Fabrizzio's "association of ideas."

5) What do we learn about the Plebiscite for Unification from the conversation between Don Fabrizio and Don Ciccio, his hunting partner, and from the flashback to the event?

6) This chapter is full of astute political insights. What is the "enigma" referred to at the top of p. 134? Notice the narrative intrusion on p. 136: "Don Fabrizio could not know it then . . . ." According to the narrator/Lampedusa, how did the Plebiscite influence politics in Sicily in years to come?

7) What dark secrets does Don Ciccio reveal about Angelica's family? How does he react to news of the impeding union of his Prince's line with that of Don Calogero? (See p. 143.)

8) Describe the meeting of the two future fathers-in-law. What are some of the humorous aspects? Note: "To eat toad" is the same as "to eat crow."

9) What dowry will Tancredi receive?

Assignment 4: Read "Love at Donnafugata," pp. 159-215.

1) How does the frequent contact between Don Fabrizio and Don Calogero affect each of them?

2) Describe Angelica's first visit to the Prince's family as bride-to-be. (Notice Bendico's behavior in this scene.)

3) We learn that Angelica was "in love with" Tancredi although she "did not love him" (p. 166). Explain that seeming contradiction. Notice how the narrator again jumps ahead on the top of p. 167. What is the effect of his doing this?

4) Notice how Lampedusa, the cosmopolitan reader and teacher of European literature, seems to speak his own thoughts about Sicilian cultural backwardness on p. 169. Are you beginning to see why Sicilians might have been offended by his novel?

5) Who accompanies Tancredi on his return to Donnafugata? How does the arrival of Tancredi's compatriot complicate the plot?

6) We are told that "The two lovers embarked for Cythera [birthplace of Aphrodite] on a ship made of dark and sunny rooms . . . ." Describe Tancredi and Angelica's rather unusual courtship.

7) Jumping ahead again, the narrator describes this period, during which the future bride and groom resisted giving in to sexual desire, as "the best days in the life of Tancredi and Angelica" (p. 188). What is meant by the statement that "the sensual urge, because restrained, had for one second been sublimated in renunciation, that is into real love"?

8) In the last part of this chapter, the visit of Chevalley, the Piedmontese emissary, to Donnafugata is the occasion for recounting a bit of barbaric Sicilian history (see p. 197 ff.). Were you reminded of more recent political events?

9) Why does Don Fabrizio turn down Chevalley's gracious invitation?

Continue to write on one topic per reading assignment.