The Heroic Female: Redefining the Role of the Heroine in the Tragedies of Vittorio Alfieri fills a void in critical inquiry on the works of eighteenth-century tragedian Vittorio Alfieri - perhaps the most important figure of the Italian Enlightenment - by exploring in depth the often neglected female characters and their function within the tragic structure. In this re-reading of the Alfierian tragedies, the author redefines the role of the heroine, and challenges traditional analyses that marginalize the female character and orient her to an abstract ideal characterized by fragility and...