Character Construction in the Historical Novel: Two Examples in Maria Bellonci and Anna Banti

Abstract

This paper analyzes character construction in the historical novel through identification and empathy, focusing on Lucrezia Borgia and Marguerite Louise d’Orléans as reimagined by Maria Bellonci and Anna Banti. Both authors challenge historiographical judgments and blend archival inquiry with narrative reinvention. Drawing on Ginzburg’s reflections on truth and possibility, and on Lavocat’s and Stanovsky’s theories of referential characters, the study shows how these affective modes enhance the characters’ mediating role in accessing the past. The porous interplay of factuality and fictionality turns historical figures into narrative myths, and invites further exploration of metalepsis as a tool for reconfiguring narrative levels.