The Intruder

The Intruder is a story of the dandy Tullio Hermil, unfaithful to his patient and loving wife, Giuliana. Tullio is a Nietzschean superman. He is handsome, intelligent, and powerful. Also, he believes himself to be superior to other men and beyond the reach of their judgment. Therefore, he ignores the feelings of others, not to mention his own wife. Yet, at some point, growing weary of his debauchery, Tullio decides to attempt a reconciliation with his wife. Giuliana is patient and loving and forgives his husband's sins. In a single weak moment, Juliana has succumbed to another man's advances and has gotten pregnant. As Tullio learns about that, he gets furious. When the baby (the Intruder) is born, Tullio starts thinking of a horrible crime. Yet, he must find the courage to commit it.

General Gabriele D'Annunzio, Prince of Montenevoso (1863 - 1938), was an Italian poet, playwright, orator, journalist, aristocrat, an army officer during World War I, and a prominent politician. As a writer, politician, and thinker, he occupied a principal place in the Italian literary and political life, often influencing the latter by his decadent literary works. He positioned himself as an ultranationalist yet never associated with fascism. However, his ideas had a significant influence on Benito Mussolini. In the times of World War I, D'Annunzio became a national hero. He took part in important events such as the Flight over Vienna, and after that, he set up the short-lived Italian Regency of Carnaro in Fiume, of which he became a leader. Gabriele D'Annunzio's literary work marked the beginning of a new era in Italian literature. It was a shift from the naturalism of the preceding romantics. His works were fresh and both sensual and mystical. His prose, dramatic and poetic words brought him international acclaim and fame.