Women's Portraits

Luciana Tufani

A 71-year-old single female former teacher of Chemistry, Science and Geography at high school and Mathematics and Scientific Observation at secondary school with a degree in Chemistry and licensed to teach the Natural Sciences, she is currently Editor and President of the Women’s Documentation Centre (Centro Documentazione Donna) and has one son and one granddaughter. In future she would like to continue working, enjoying good health and having something to live for.

Interview

I’m satisfied with the way that I live and the way that I have lived. Even those events that seemed at the time to be bad luck later revealed themselves to be instrumental in the fulfilment of one of my dreams, and several things that I didn’t choose but were thrust upon me eventually turned out to have positive aspects.
The time of my life that I recall with the most pleasure is my childhood in Milan. Another good period is the present. Having said that, I recall most of my life, except my teenage years, with fondness. 
Positive memories of my childhood are the freedom I enjoyed, the fun I had with my many friends, the joy I felt at learning in a school that I loved, and especially the great affection I was surrounded by (not only from my parents, but also as the only niece of my aunts and uncles).  
No particular episode springs to mind – only a set of enjoyable memories.

The period of my childhood was marked by the lingering hardships brought about by the war, but I only have vague memories of this, and I perceived it with a fairly adventurous spirit.

I chose the teaching profession by accident or, more precisely, because being a woman, I couldn’t find another kind of job.
In contrast, I chose to work as an editor because I nurture a great passion for literature and women’s politics.

I would have liked to be many things, from the President of the Republic to an actress or director. The only things I didn’t want to do were teaching or being a housewife. One of my fondest ambitions was to own a bookshop or to become an editor. This I only achieved after I retired, thanks to my severance pay.

In my opinion, the family as an institution is the source of great problems for many people. In particular, marriage is an institution that should be abolished. In fact, I never married. As far as my own upbringing is concerned, mine was a wonderful family that gave me a great deal of affection, support and self-esteem. In particular, I inherited my determined character from my mother, and I have my happy upbringing to thank for my lack of issues. I’m equally content with the non-conventional family I created myself.

I sought to give my son all the support he needed. I didn’t try to turn him into a carbon copy of myself, rather I loved, and still love, him for what he is. I feel the same about my granddaughter, even though in her case I would have liked her to follow in my footsteps. This didn’t happen, but I don’t hold it against her – for me her happiness is the most important thing.

This is a good time in my life; I really enjoy both my job as editor and my work with the Women’s Documentation Centre – in both roles I have the occasion to frequent interesting people I’m very fond of.

Between the ages of 40 and 60 I had a great life. I retired very early and was able not only to dedicate my time to the work I chose, but also to travel widely, meet many interesting people and fall in love for the first time, or rather times. I also emerged relatively unscathed from my first serious illness.

I tend to live in the present and I don’t dwell on the past; adolescence was the most difficult time for me.

At this time in my life, I work a lot and use the new media (internet, e-mail, facebook, skype, etc.) on a daily basis.

Living for something, rather than someone, continues to be, for me, the most sensible way to live.
In the future, I would like to continue doing what I’m doing until the end, and I hope to preserve my health, sanity and will to live.
I try not to think about death.
I’m satisfied by the life I have lived; I’ve always remained true to what I believed in and, whenever possible, I’ve done as I wished.

I think it is important to try to do something useful for the world we live in.

As regards the future of society, it looks fairly bleak at the moment, but I hope for a brighter future in the long term, when things will be better – if, in the meantime, the human species has not managed to wipe itself out, and the other species along with it.
My advice to the younger generations is not to be disheartened by the things happening around them; they should hold on to their ideals, be honest with themselves and others, and never accept half measures.