Giuseppe di Lampedusa’s The Leopard, named after the emblem of Don Fabrizio Corbera’s family’s coat of arms and his nickname, thoroughly illustrates Italy’s state over a ten-year span, during the Risorgimento. The Leopard opens with Garibaldi’s forces dispersing throughout Sicily, for the sake of Italy’s unification. The majority of characters studied are unionists, the most dominant example being Tancredi Falconeri—the nephew of Prince Don Fabrizio Corbera, a fervent supporter of Garibaldi, and an “unconventional youth.” Tancredi wants to focus on the “aims of the current political movement in Italy—to bring new blood into old families and to level out classes.” Another in favor, Russo, tells Don Fabrizio, “But I must say that my heart is with them, those bold lads. Your Excellency knows we can’t stand any more: searches, questions, nagging about every little thing, a police spy at every street corner; an honest man can’t even look after his own affairs. Afterward, though, we’ll have liberty, security, lighter taxes, ease, and trade. Everything will be better.” Tancredi once again furthers his argument by claiming, “Unless we ourselves take a hand now, they’ll foist a republic on us. If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.” Despite the evident pros of unification, Don Fabrizio responds to his nephew: “You’re mad, my boy, to go with those people! They’re all in the mafia, all troublemakers.”
 Here lies an example of the different mindset of protagonist Don Fabrizio Corbera, Prince of Salina. Unlike Tancredi, the representative of plebian influence, Don Fabrizio is wary of Italian unification because of the possible diminishment of aristocratic power and the old regime. Giuseppe di Lampedusa uses his character as a means to understand both sides of the spectrum during the Risorgimento. The reader is able to follow Don Fabrizio’s stream of consciousness up until his deathbed when he raises existentialist-like questions, now that the old regime may lose much of its power. Nonetheless, Don Fabrizio can easily be associated with Gone with the Wind’s Scarlett O’Hara. Life-changing occurrences crop in and out of their lives, yet both characters strive not to involve themselves in these episodes. For example, Scarlett constantly refers to the Civil War as “silly” and tries to avoid the topic in conversation, whereas Don Fabrizio tries to isolate himself from the unification process because he is personally opposed to it. Both Scarlett and Don Fabrizio have their own opinions on such matters, yet they remain politically inactive throughout the respective novels.
 The imagery in The Leopard serves as another important feature, as it corresponds with ongoing political changes in the novel. Giuseppe di Lampedusa discloses a vast number of visual images of Sicily while at the brink of the Risorgimento, such as bells chiming Verdi tunes, fireworks, gypsy songs, the symbolism of Bendicó, street-side signs campaigning “Viva Garibaldi,” and “activity of the insects,” which reminded Don Fabrizio of the plebiscites. Like Margaret Mitchell’s work in Gone with the Wind, the seemingly trivial descriptions and details that Giuseppe di Lampedusa shares prove to be quite insightful when studying everyday life in Sicily during the late nineteenth century. Whether the reader relates to the more revolutionary or conservative side throughout The Leopard, the descriptive narrative instantly improves the reader’s understanding of the Italian Risorgimento, thus cultivating greater enthusiasm towards this period in history.

1.)Lampedusa, Giuseppe di. The Leopard. New York: Random House, Inc. Pantheon Books, 1960. p. 76.
2.)p. 118.
3.) p. 47.
4.) p. 40.
5.) Ibid.
6.)p. 77.
7.) p. 125.