The Conformist (novel)
novel by Alberto Moravia
The Conformist (Italian: Il conformista) is a novel by Alberto Moravia published in 1951, which details the life and desire for normality of a government official during Italy's fascist period. It is also known for the 1970 film adaptation by Bernardo Bertolucci.
Synopsis
Prologue
A boy named Marcello kills lizards in the yard near his home. He tries to coax his neighbor and friend Roberto into offering approval of this behavior, to no avail. They then fight, and Roberto leaves. After obtaining a slingshot, Marcello fires stones through the fence around Roberto's house, killing their family cat instead of Roberto. Marcello is mortified not so much by his actions but by the "abnormality" of his sentiments.
Marcello later witnesses a fight between his parents. His father ultimately chases his mother around the house and attacks her in the bedroom, leaving Marcello torn between whether to rescue his mother or aid his father.
When the summer is over, Marcello is tormented by his classmates, who use his "effeminate" appearance to question his gender.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “The Conformist (novel)” as novel by Alberto Moravia. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as novel by Alberto Moravia. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3793573. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1951 and 1970.
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This entry incorporates text from “The Conformist (novel)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.