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Dissidence 157Abbondio which are symptomatic of its Christian conservatism andbourgeois sentimentality.Tarchetti recognizes that the canonization of I promessi sposi and thenumerous translations of contemporary French novels made realismthe dominant fictional discourse in Italy, but he concludes that Italianculture is suffering from a “decadenza” (“decadence”) partlymaintained by the translation patterns of Italian publishers (Tarchetti1967, II:535). He argues that the French novelsche vengono tradotti e pubblicati dai nostri editori, sonogeneralmente tali libri che godono di nessuna o pochissimareputazione in Francia [e] tranne alcune poche eccezioni, la lorospeculazione si è tuttor rivolta alla diffusione di romanzi osceni.which are translated and issued by our publishers, are generallysuch books as enjoy no or little reputation in France [and] with veryfew exceptions, their investment is always aimed at the circulationof obscene novels.(ibid.:532)Tarchetti singles out French novelists like the prolific Charles-Paul deKock (1794–1871), whose sentimental, titillating realism enjoyedenormous popularity in Italy. Italian translations of over sixty novelsby de Kock were published between 1840 and 1865, bearing titles likeLa moglie, il marito e l’amante (The Wife, The Husband and The Lover, 1853)and Il cornuto (The Cuckold, 1854); some of these novels appeared indifferent translations a few years apart from various publishers,showing that the Italian publishing industry was scrambling to exploitde Kock’s marketability (Costa and Vigini 1991). Tarchetti was mostconcerned about the social and political implications of these culturaldevelopments, which he finally brands retrograde:Non si voglia dimenticare che l’Italia, unica al mondo, possiede unaguida per le case di tolleranza, che i nostri romanzi licenziosi sonoriprodotti e popolari anche in Francia, che gli uomini che li scrisserogodono di tutti i diritti civili e dell’ammirazione pubblica, e cheapparatengono in gran parte alla stampa periodica [mentre] ogniscritto politico awerso ai principi del governo, ma conforme a quellidell’umanità e del progresso, è tosto impedito nella sua diffusione.It must not be forgotten that Italy, unique in the world, possessesa guide to brothels, that our licentious novels are reproduced and