California Italian Studies

The 1918 short novel Una donna con tre anime by Rosa Rosà (translated here as A Woman with Three Souls) is one of the most important narrative texts published by a futurist woman. Visual poet, fiction-writer, artist, and feminist Rosa Rosà (Edith von Haynau, 1884-1978) was born and educated in Vienna. She lived in Italy most of her life, publishing in her adopted language and working as an illustrator. A Woman with Three Souls is a visionary “futurist-fantastic” narrative, with elements of both realism and science fiction. Written during World War I, the short novel is a feminist parable with satirical overtones, and a manifesto about the impending transformation of women’s lives, personalities and gender roles in the twentieth century and beyond.