ABSTRACT In late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Italy, after conceiving an illegitimate child, women sometimes committed infanticide to restore their honour. The Italian Penal Code even included an honour excuse to justify such crimes, which could lead to a mitigated sentence. Using cases of infanticide from the southern Italian region of Basilicata, this article explores use of the honour excuse among women accused of infanticide. While the excuse was invoked in all infanticide cases, the statements and testimony from the proceedings show that saving their honour was not always the primary concern. Honour was tied to many other aspects of daily life, including the family’s reputation in society and its economic position. An examination of these cases shows that in committing infanticide and claiming the honour excuse, the accused women were largely motivated by social and economic consequences of dishonourable actions.

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可耻的女人？1880年至1914年在巴西利卡塔的杀婴和荣誉

摘要在19世纪末和20世纪初的意大利，怀了一个私生子之后，妇女有时会杀婴以恢复其荣誉。《意大利刑法典》甚至包括为此类罪行辩护的荣誉借口，这可能导致刑期减轻。本文以意大利南部巴斯利卡塔地区的杀婴案为例，探讨了在被指控杀害婴儿的妇女中使用名誉借口的情况。虽然在所有杀婴案件中都援引了借口，但诉讼中的陈述和证词表明，保全其荣誉并非始终是首要问题。荣誉与日常生活的许多其他方面息息相关，包括家庭在社会中的声誉及其经济地位。对这些案件的检查表明，在犯下杀婴罪并以名誉为由时，