Past E (2012) Methods of Murder: Beccarian Introspection and
Lombrosian Vivisection in Italian Crime Fiction.
Different professional traditions of ownership were also apparent, most notable the role of forensic scientists and the influence of
Lombrosian criminology in Italy.
A few contributors stick close to science (the culture of entomology,
Lombrosian ideas in botany); a few stray far into postmodern literary theory (queering T.C.
Beccarian hztrospection and
Lombrosian Vivisection in Italian Crime Fiction.
(77) The Institute thus "opened a door through which
Lombrosian works passed into the United States while closing that door to studies in alternative theoretical traditions." (78)
In the
Lombrosian model, the concept of atavism is linked to an irreversible process of the hereditary transmission of internal physical characteristics and the creation of populations with inferior development among the species, such as criminals, wild men, and apes.
Ultimately, the whole family--not just the children--shows signs of degeneracy, particularly in what might be read as a darkly comic rendering of
Lombrosian maternal passion, a perspective that "Amy Foster" also recalls.
states." (49)
Lombrosian theory certainly had a major impact among
The
Lombrosian notion of the "criminal type" is invoked here only to be rejected as unhelpful and misguided.
37) of the sense of masculinity displayed by D'Annunzio's protagonists against the
Lombrosian construction of healthy heterosexuality dominant in post-unification Italy.