“Don’t let yourself be defined by violence. Violence against women in three literary cases: Celie, Modesta, Alice

Violence against women, in all its forms, is here analy- zed in the context of two novels and a memoir: “The Color Purple” (1982) by Alice Walker, “L’arte della gioia”(1998) (“The Art of Joy”) by Goliarda Sapienza, “Lucky”(1999) by Alice Sebold. Three powerful female characters affected by rape: memory and words to tell others, maternity and/or re- birth, family and surroundings, sisterhood in violence. Can there be liberation and an affirmation of feminist subjecti- vity?