The Use of Food to Signify Class in the Comedies of Carlo Goldoni 1737-1762
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ABSTRACT Title of Document: “THE SAUCE IS BETTER THAN THE FISH”: THE USE OF FOOD TO SIGNIFY CLASS IN THE COMEDIES OF CARLO GOLDONI 1737-1762. Margaret Anne Coyle, Ph.D, 2006 Directed By: Dr. Heather Nathans, Department of Theatre This dissertation explores the plays of Venetian Commedia del’Arte reformer- cum-playwright Carlo Goldoni, and documents how he manipulates consumption and material culture using fashionable food and dining styles to satirize class structures in eighteenth century Italy. Goldoni’s works exist in what I call the “consuming public” of eighteenth century Venice, documenting the theatrical, literary, and artistic production of the city as well as the trend towards Frenchified social production and foods in the stylish eating of the period. The construction of Venetian society in the middle of the eighteenth century was a specific and legally ordered cultural body, expressed through various extra-theatrical activities available during the period, such as gambling, carnival, and public entertainments. The theatrical conventions of the Venetian eighteenth century also explored nuances of class decorum, especially as they related to audience behavior and performance reception. This decorum extended to the eating styles for the wealthy developed in France during the late seventeenth century and spread to the remainder of Europe in the eighteenth century. Goldoni ‘s early plays from 1737 through 1752 are riffs on the traditional Commedia dell’Arte performances prevalent in the period. He used food in these early pieces to illustrate the traditional class and regional affiliations of the Commedia characters. Plays such as The Artful Widow, The Coffee House, and The Gentleman of Good Taste experimented with the use of historical foods styles that illustrate social placement and hint at further character development. In his later plays from 1753-1762, Goldoni developed his satirical use of food in order to illuminate current social problems and bourgeois status issues. Plays such as Mirandolina, The Superior Residence, and the three plays of The Country Trilogy offer a social commentary about the role of consumption in the formation of class structure during the period. My work offers a new look at the theatre and literary output of the eighteenth century, and particularly how writers used material culture as a way of illustrating social changes. “THE SAUCE IS BETTER THAN THE FISH”: THE USE OF FOOD TO SIGNIFY CLASS IN THE COMEDIES OF CARLO GOLDONI 1737-1762 By Margaret Anne Coyle Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2006 Advisory Committee: Dr. Heather Nathans, Chair Professor Dan Conway Dr. Guiseppe Falvo Dr. Franklin Hildy Dr. Mary Sies © Copyright by Margaret Anne Coyle 2006 Dedication To the memory of Carlo Goldoni, a man essential to every dinner party. He would keep the wine flowing, the food varied and delicious, and make every woman present feel the most beautiful in the room. And To my Mother, Gwendolyn Shew Coyle, who hates to cook but loves to eat. ii Acknowledgements My thanks go to the many people who made this process move smoothly. The staff at Ca’Goldoni in Venice. The Pierpont Morgan Library Staff, particularly Kathleen Stuart and Sylvie Merian for their help in finding documents, and their kindness in helping me view them before the library closed for renovations. Also, thanks to the staff at the European Reading Room at the Library of Congress for their suggestions on Italian language sources, and their assistance. The University of Genoa staff and faculty were also accommodating during the 2004 Winterterm Study Abroad program I am grateful for the friendship and advice of many who helped or inspired me in this project. Dr. Elizabeth Nathans, for giving me advice about the Harvard Library system, and putting me up during the 2005 blizzard that blanketed Cambridge. Professoresse Deigan and Amodeo at the University of Maryland Department of French and Italian, for their patience. Dr. Catherine Schuler, whose class first launched this inquiry into the wonderful connections between cuisine and comedy. Drs. Korey Rothman and Stacey Stewart for proving that a PhD can indeed be finished. Lindsey Snyder, for early morning coffee, advice, and gossip, and Heidi Castle-Smith, Carrie Cole, and Beth Osborne for dissertation advice. Particularly, I would like to gratefully thank the University of Maryland Dissertation Support Group, under the watchful eye of Dr. Marcy Marinelli, for suggestions and encouragement during this enormous task. Sandy Jackson, Rita Phelps, and Keiko Suwa, for their exquisite patience with the process and their excitement as various stages were completed. My sister Dr. Donna Coyle, for her enthusiasm and encouragement for this project, my patient translator Jeannette Connors, and my editor and office mate, Kris Messer, for cheerleading, talk of food, and Sake. Acknowledgements prefacing a dissertation about food would be incomplete without some mention of culinary support. In Memory of gastro-critic Piero Camporesi, whose works have influenced me immensely in my understanding of historical Italian cuisine. Many thanks to cook Marcella Hazan, whose cookbook The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking has inspired me in this project as well as in the kitchen. I was fortunate to have a committee excited about the project and hungry to hear about food of the eighteenth century. Dan Conway, whose interest in the architecture of the period was helpful in thinking about artistic output. Dottore Falvo, an Italian culture representative, lent his expertise in a few difficult translation moments. Dr. Mary Sies for being a terrific teacher and role model, and for her generous readings of the theory to make sure it actually made sense. Dr. Hildy, for his excitement regarding this project as well as his enjoyment of the recipes. Dr. Heather Nathans, whose patience with the actor who tried to be an academic was legendary, and who taught me far more than historiography and editing. iii Finally, to Scott Rowe, who was patient, encouraging, problem-solving, carried books, suitcases, and computers, fed the cats when I had to travel, encouraged me to write daily, to be thorough in my research, and open to learning about the crazy rigors of academia, my thanks and love. iv Table of Contents Dedication..................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements......................................................................................................iii Table of Contents.......................................................................................................... v Introduction................................................................................................................... 1 “Amidst riot and luxury did I enter the world”: Goldoni and Classed Use of Food and Methodological Structure.............................................................................................. 1 Section 1 Methodological Structure.......................................................................... 9 Section 2 Chapter Structure .................................................................................... 21 Chapter One ................................................................................................................ 27 “Chocolate… was the most suitable medicine for my disease.”: Goldoni’s Life as a Playwright and as a Consumer.................................................................................... 27 Section 1 Goldoni’s Childhood and Family............................................................ 29 Section 2 Goldoni and the Commedia .................................................................... 34 Section 3 The Reforms and Public Reaction .......................................................... 41 Section 4 Goldoni and Consumption ...................................................................... 53 Chapter Two................................................................................................................ 66 “I enjoyed all the pleasures of society, a good table”: Consumption and the Eighteenth Century Venetian Consuming Public ....................................................... 66 Section 1 Theories of Consumption........................................................................ 66 Section 2 Perspectives on Eighteenth Century Consumption................................. 78 Section 3 Food as an Historical Object of Consumption........................................ 84 Section 4 Consumption in Eighteenth Century Venice .......................................... 91 Chapter Three............................................................................................................ 107 “Some Agreeable Amusement…. No cheer like a good dinner”: Extra-theatrical Rituals of Theatre and Food in Eighteenth Century Venice and the Evolution of Eighteenth Century Dining ....................................................................................... 107 Section 1 Venetian Spectacle: Visitors and Carnival ........................................... 111 Section 2 Venetian Literature and Art .................................................................. 118 Section 3 Il Ridotto and Gambling ....................................................................... 121 Section 4