Three Names for a Seductive Indian, Two Novels for Ernesto Ferrero

Abstract

In the mid-1920s, European theatre audiences found themselves gripped by a collective fascination with the exotic allure of distant lands. For some noblewomen, an encounter with a traveling Indian performance troupe turned into a beguiling entanglement with an extravagant and calculating con artist: Chief White Elk. Gifted with charm and the mesmerizing talent of a natural storyteller, he skillfully exploited their generous hospitality and opulent offerings. Eventually denounced, unmasked, and convicted, his tale captured public attention, filled the pages of newspapers, and culminated in a substantial trial file at the Turin Court in 1926. The story also stirred the imagination of Turin novelist Ernesto Ferrero, who first heard it from his mother during childhood. So powerful was its impression that he later penned two novels inspired by the case, written nearly two decades apart: Cervo Bianco and L’anno dell’Indiano. In these works, the motif of the name emerges as a central theme—not merely as a device for deception, but as a symbol of layered identity. The Indian’s three names, each in a different language, embody and elevate the allure of an unknown world, the idealized image of the noble savage, and the enigma of the storyteller himself. Through the shifting identities of the American impostor, Ferrero delves into the intricate psyche of a criminal mind—one that deftly weaves together truth and illusion, narrative and manipulation.