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Rewriting Boccaccio: Women and Knowledge in Christine De Pizan, Giulia Bigolina, and Moderata Fonte

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Rewriting Boccaccio: Women and Knowledge in Christine De Pizan, Giulia Bigolina, and Moderata Fonte Boccaccio’s Women Philosophers: Defining Philosophy, Debating Gender in the Decameron and Beyond by Alyssa Madeline Granacki Department of Romance Studies Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Martin Eisner, Advisor ___________________________ Christopher Celenza ___________________________ Valeria Finucci ___________________________ Toril Moi ___________________________ Saskia Ziolkowski Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Romance Studies in the Graduate School of Duke University 2020 i v ABSTRACT Boccaccio’s Women Philosophers: Defining Philosophy, Debating Gender in the Decameron and Beyond by Alyssa Madeline Granacki Department of Romance Studies Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Martin Eisner, Advisor ___________________________ Christopher Celenza ___________________________ Valeria Finucci ___________________________ Toril Moi ___________________________ Saskia Ziolkowski An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Romance Studies in the Graduate School of Duke University 2020 Copyright by Alyssa Madeline Granacki 2020 Abstract This dissertation investigates the ‘woman philosopher’ in the works of fourteenth-century Italian author, Giovanni Boccaccio. Across his literature, Latin and Italian alike, Boccaccio demonstrated an ongoing interest in both philosophy and women, concepts that were at the center of various intellectual debates in fourteenth- century Europe. I use variations and commentaries found in the manuscript tradition to historically ground my literary analysis, showing how scribes, translators, and early readers drew attention to the relationship between gender and knowledge in Boccaccio’s works. While women have not been absent from critical studies of Boccaccio, existing interpretations often limit their discussion to the feminism or misogyny of his works. Drawing on thinkers who problematize the relationship between women and knowledge, I shift the scholarly discourse away from feminism/misogyny. Each chapter situates one or more Boccaccian figures within textual and material networks and shows how they employ “philosophy,” exploring distinct but related definitions of the term as outlined by Boccaccio. I contend that Boccaccio, in his vernacular masterpiece the Decameron and other works, presents not just one model of a woman philosopher but several, a plurality that challenges our inherited notion of what constitutes philosophy, to whom it belongs, and how we encounter it in our lives. iv Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. viii Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... ix Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 Situating Boccaccio: Literary and Cultural Contexts ......................................................... 4 Gender in Boccaccio Studies ................................................................................................ 13 Boccaccio’s Philosophy ......................................................................................................... 18 Women and Philosophy: From the Fourteenth Century to the Twenty-First .............. 23 Methodology and Chapter Overview ................................................................................ 29 Chapter 1: Domesticating Philosophy: Dante’s Women in Boccaccio ................................. 35 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 35 Domesticating Philosophy: Boccaccio’s Expositions on Dante’s Comedy ................... 41 Beyond Domestic Bounds: On Famous Women............................................................... 54 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 68 Chapter 2: Ghismonda and Titus Translated: Philosophy Between the Vernacular and Latin (Decameron IV.1 and X.8) .................................................................................................. 69 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 69 Decameron in Latin Translation ......................................................................................... 75 Ghismonda: A Philosopher by Any Other Name ............................................................ 80 Titus: A Philosopher Only in Name ................................................................................... 90 v Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 108 Chapter 3: Poetesse and Filosofe: Erudite Modes in On Famous Women ........................... 111 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 111 Sappho .................................................................................................................................. 119 Leontium .............................................................................................................................. 130 Nicostrata/Carmenta ........................................................................................................... 142 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 152 Chapter 4: Rewriting Boccaccio: Women and Knowledge in Christine de Pizan, Giulia Bigolina, and Moderata Fonte .................................................................................................. 154 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 154 Christine de Pizan: The Book of the City of Ladies (1405) ............................................ 159 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 159 Cornificia ............................................................................................................................ 164 Sappho ................................................................................................................................ 168 Nicostrata/Carmenta......................................................................................................... 172 Giulia Bigolina: Urania (1555) ........................................................................................... 174 Moderata Fonte: The Worth of Women (1600) ............................................................... 190 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 198 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 199 Appendix A ................................................................................................................................ 202 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 216 Manuscripts Cited: .............................................................................................................. 236 vi Biography .................................................................................................................................... 238 vii List of Figures Figure 1: Sappho, BNF Fr 598, f. 71V ...................................................................................... 123 Figure 2: Boccaccio, BNF Fr 598, f. 4V ..................................................................................... 124 viii Acknowledgements No intellectual work is the product of a single mind, and I am grateful to the communities that have supported me over the past six years: my family, friends, and colleagues. Thank you to my cohort, especially Nicolás Sánchez and Matthew Whitehouse. I feel lucky to call Laura Banella a colleague and friend. Hilary Ilkay and Brendan McGlone sustained me in my study of Latin and beyond. I am appreciative of my sparring-partners, Erasmo Castellani and Kevin Gallin, for always pushing me. Anna Tybinko and Farren Yero, my dear pingüinas, I would not have survived without you. I am grateful to my undergraduate mentor, Bill Chafe, who first challenged me to see the world differently. Many thanks to Roberto Dainotto, for his patience and encouragement at the beginning of my doctorate, and to Helen Solterer for engaging conversation, no matter the occasion. Thank you to my committee who has supported me every step of the way: Chris Celenza, Valeria Finucci, Toril Moi, Saskia Ziolkowski, and especially Martin Eisner – to whom I can not say thank you enough, grazie
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