They were more than a writer and an actress.

Not only through their farce and political

satires, the duo maintained their presence in industrial disputes and helped detainees gain
access to money and families. They were silenced through many agencies and ‘The Rape’
documents a horrific attempt to crush dissent; Franca Rame herself narrating her rape.

(b) Franca Rame, ‘The Rape’

1. The Background
On 9th March, 1973 Franca Rame was attacked, kidnapped, razored, burnt with cigarettes and
raped by a group of men in Milan, in a moving van. This unfortunate event was recorded as
The Rape, in 1978 in the form of a monologue. Prior to this, Franca never admitted that the
attack involved rape. It becomes important to ponder over the kind of political ideology
Franca followed that resulted in such a ‘punishment?’
The earlier middle-class period of Dario Fo and Franca Rame’s theatre gave way to a
political theatre, where the classical structure of the theatre got altered with a new found
political identity. To reach the working and the middle-class masses, the Fo couple started
performing in factories, cinemas and other public places. Usually, the plays comprised two
acts while the third act or ‘terzo atto’ was reserved to discuss the political and social issues of
the times amongst the company and the audience. The commitment towards the common man
went beyond theatre, as Franca revived the ‘Red Aid’ association. This association helped
transfer money and letters to political detainees and their families, fighting against
oppressions that took place in the name of detainments and interrogations and the sorry
conditions of the prisons and asylums.
In 1972, the ‘Red Aid’ agreed to support the accused of violent terrorism. Franca, though
far from the political choice regarding terrorism, however continued serving the detainee. Joe
Farrell in Franca Rame. A Woman on Stage (2000) effectively captures Franca’s selflessness
in serving the detainee. He says that Rame campaigned for the human rights, irrespective of
the crimes committed by men. Farrell further highlights Rame’s understanding about the
wrongdoings of the prisoners while stating that each individual deserves to be treated
respectfully.
Franca’s association with the ‘Red Aid’ made her both, the most liked and hated woman
in Italy. This, perhaps, resulted in her rape in 1973. The heinous crime was organised by the
agents of the Italian state to stop the growth and support of the left-wing, particularly to the
terrorists. The state initiated an investigation against the Fo couple for their possible ties and
involvement with terrorism. Interestingly, the Italian magistrate, Guido Viola, who carried
out the inquiry regarding the ties to terrorism, was also selected to investigate Franca’s rape
which was ousted without any charges.
Before the publication of ‘The Rape,’ Franca never spoke of the fact that the assault was
sexual in nature. The attack and the assault led to several demonstrations in the city.

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Historically, rape has always been used as a weapon against women. Women’s bodies have
been used to send out strong messages of humiliation and defeat to the other sex, while at the
same time, causing anger, shock and immense pain. Franca’s choice to not make her rape
public defeated the purpose of her rapists. Socially, she was seen as a woman who defeated a
group of politically charged men. While, on a more personal ground, the act was unspeakable
and she did not want Dario to sacrifice his political beliefs and activities to ensure her safety
in the future.
2. Critical Analysis
The opening lines of the monologue present the confusion that the actress must have gone
through during the assault. Her mind registers the romantic music in the background. The
constant movement between her surroundings and her feelings, creates the effect of a close-
up. The victim’s narration is like a stream of consciousness, while she unravels the confusion
to locate herself in the van, to the men’s knees shifting as they position her.
Voicelessness and lack of proper words forms the major theme of the monologue. The
woman is talking in her mind, questioning and answering to make sense of the world
spiralling around her. She is aware that the men are about to do something and she speculates
their intentions. Another man positions himself between her legs and it becomes apparent that
she is going to be raped. She then narrates her feelings at that exact moment which comprise
fear, logic, situation, location, and pain. The assault is described in disturbingly graphic
detail.
The half-formed sentences and incomplete feelings enhance the pain for the readers as
they rely on their imagination to decipher the act. The insignificant details of the monologue
highlight the appalling truth of Franca’s powerlessness. When the first man penetrates her,
her feelings are exposed. She feels ‘sick,’ her heart ready to ‘explode,’ ‘chaos in her head’
and she turns into a ‘stone.’ By the time the third man is mentioned, the sentences have
increasingly turned shorter. Finally, the words make their way through the victim’s mouth:
“I’m dying . . . I’m having a heart attack.” The attackers manage to extinguish the last
cigarette on her neck before hurriedly dressing her back and throwing her out of the van.
The confused tone of the beginning returns, as she attempts to recollect herself and her
surroundings. The slow pace conveys that the victim has spent a very long time to ponder
over the event and its implication. She’s aware that the police and the doctors would demand
that she revisit the unfortunate event again and again. Therefore, she postpones her visit to
the police station and leave things for the following morning. Franca remains silent, like
innumerable victims before her. The burn marks and razor cuts on Franca’s body are visible
warnings and reminders; which the neo-fascists leave on her body to remind her of her
‘mistakes’ and the impending punishment, lest she forgets.
It was only in 1987, fourteen years after the actual rape, during one of her performances,
that Franca Rame made the news of her rape public. Due to the passage of time and her
public image, the stigma of a defiled identity, was not a concern now. The activist Rame, in

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the light of the sensitivity of the situation and gravity of the incident, requested for harsher
laws on sexual violence.
Check your Progress
1. Rapes and sexual attacks are often used as political weapons. Comment with respect
to The Rape.
2. Write a short note on Franca Rame’s political ideology and social activism.
3. Comment on the narrative technique of the monologue.
Works Cited
Bedani, Gino. Politics and Ideology in the Italian Worker’s Movement. Oxford: Berg., 1995.
Behan, Tom. Dario Fo: Revolutionary Theatre. London: Pluto, 2000.
Farrell, Joseph. Dario Fo and Franca Rame: Harlequins of the Revolution. London:
Methuen, 2001.
Fo, Dario. Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay! (1978) Translated, Lino Pertile. Delhi: Worldview, 2022.
Ginsborg, Paul. A History of Contemporary Italy: Society and Politics, 1943-1988. New
York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2003.
Jenkins, Ron. “The Comedy of Hunger.” In We Won’t Pay! We Won’t Pay! and Other Plays.
The Collected Plays of Dario Fo. Vol. 1. Ed. Franca Rame. Trans. Ron Jenkins. New
York: Theatre Communications Group, 2001.
Mitchell, Tony. Dario Fo: People’s Court Jester. London: Methuen, 1986.
Valentini, C. The Plays of Dario Fo. Milan: Feltrinelli, 1997.

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