Sexual violence in 'Orlando furioso'.

摘要

In this study, I argue that Orlando furioso represents sexual violence against women in a way that is unique for chivalric romance. Although such violence is a component of romance beginning with the works of Chretien de Troyes, in the Furioso it is omnipresent, and committed by heroes and villains alike; at the same time, the narrative dissimulates sexual violence and distracts the reader from its brutality. In this sense, the world of the Furioso reflects our real world, in which sexual aggression is widespread but frequently goes unseen. However, Ariosto's poem achieves this paradox through its exquisite literariness: the complex use of narrative voices and the brilliant interweaving of literary citations ranging from Homer to Ariosto's immediate predecessor, Matteo Maria Boiardo.;The first part of the dissertation explores the literary traditions of sexual violence that inform Orlando furioso. Chapter I treats classical sources: Homer, the comedies of Plautus and Terence, and Ovid, whose works are the bedrock of the Furioso. Chapter 2 deals with medieval traditions, from the contradictory writings of Andreas Capellanus up through the idealizing and disembodying lyrics of the dolce stil nuovo. Chapter 3 is dedicated to key Renaissance influences: Boccaccio, Luigi Pulci, and Boiardo, whose Orlando innamorato is far more than a mere point of departure for Ariosto.;The second part of the dissertation explores Orlando furioso itself. Close reading of key sections of the Furioso shows how Ariosto incorporates these sources, manipulating and transforming them in order to create his own unsettling poetry. Chapter 4 follows the travails of Angelica, the unwilling and frightened object of desire of the Furioso's male protagonists. Chapter 5 details Angelica's transformation from sexual prey to subject of her own erotic experiences. Chapter 6 demonstrates that sexual aggression and coercion extend far beyond the narrative of Angelica, in some way touching every major female character in the poem. These three final chapters also examine how Ariosto's narrative artifice has been a factor in critical misreadings of Orlando furioso's sexually violent episodes.