“Tre quarti e tre quarti": ovvero la misura del potere che opprime nel Fontamara di Ignazio Silone

This paper aims to analyze, through the lens of Ignazio Silone's novel Fontamara, some of the ways in which the exercise of power manifests itself, especially when it takes the form of abuse against the most vulnerable. In particular, it focuses on two emblematic episodes – the deception of the petition and the division of the stream's water – to highlight how, behind an apparent legality, there is actually a will to prevail and oppress, which suspends the ‘justice of law’ and allows the despotic traits of prevailing power.