In Il serpente, Luigi Malerba's first novel, the writer moves from the objectifying perspective, working-class protagonists, and themes of neorealism to a subjective realism that sets aside the direct dialogue of his first book (La scoperta dell'alfabeto, a collection of brief narratives) in favor of the exterior monologue. The narrating voice of Il serpente feels compelled to relive the guilt, shame, and humiliation of his youth. He prevaricates habitually because he is anxious as to how he appears, primarily to himself: he is caught between the need to express himself and the fear of being punished for having done so. The changes in narrative strategy, along with the psychological plausibility of the narrative and Malerba's analysis of Italy's ‘grey zone’, populated by those who did not actively participate in the civil war following the fall of Fascism, make Il serpente worthy of our close attention.

在Luigi Malerba 的第一部小说Il serpente中，作者从客观化的视角、工人阶级的主人公和新现实主义的主题转向主观现实主义，摒弃了他第一本书的直接对话（La scoperta dell'alfabeto，一本简短的叙述）支持外部独白。Il serpente的旁白之声感到不得不重温他年轻时的内疚、羞耻和屈辱。他习惯性地推诿，因为他担心自己的表现，主要是对自己的表现：他被夹在表达自己的需要和害怕因为这样做而受到惩罚之间。叙事策略的变化，加上叙事的心理合理性和马勒巴对意大利“灰色地带”的分析，这些人在法西斯主义倒台后没有积极参与内战，这使得《毒蛇》值得我们密切关注.