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©2009 William Eugene Roney ALL RIGHTS RESERVED GIACOMO LEOPARDI: SHADES OF BLACK: MISANTHROPY IN LO ZIBALDONE By WILLIAM EUGENE RONEY A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Italian written under the direction of Professor Elizabeth Leake and approved by ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey January 2009 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION GIACOMO LEOPARDI: SHADES OF BLACK: MISANTHROPY IN LO ZIBALDONE by WILLIAM EUGENE RONEY Dissertation Director: Professor Elizabeth Leake The work of Giacomo Leopardi has typically been analyzed by contrasting the noble values of the classical past against his perception of the inferior cultural condition found in the contemporary world. Leopardi believed that modern society at large was in decay as evidenced by the constant use of the word odio, hate, in relation to it and its members. Odio, and other misanthropic terms, are found so frequently and in such varied contexts in Lo Zibaldone, that one quickly understands that his feelings are more raw and less theoretical than past literary criticism would indicate. Leopardi’s hatred is misanthropic, a strong dislike and rejection of humankind itself. It is not that Leopardi dislikes everything, but rather, everyone. His negativity is directed toward people and their selfishness and lack of vision. Previous interpretations of his work focus on Leopardi’s pessimism but do not acknowledge that it is not expressed toward life itself, but rather the disappointing and inadequate actions of individuals and groups. Depending on the variety of odio, the misanthropy that he is experiencing or ii exposing, there is a different motivation behind it. The concept of hate has been considered by some critics to be one-dimensional when in fact for Leopardi l’odio has many textures and layers. It is not simply that Leopardi dislikes humanity but instead has a complete methodology of misanthropic thought. The significance of misanthropy in Leopardi’s work can not be overstated and is the genesis of his creativity. The scope of this work is to clearly delineate the three types of Leopardi’s misanthropy which until now has been viewed as homogenous: dislike of strangers, dislike of peers, and dislike of self each serve a particular literary purpose. The functions of these variants will subsequently be defined in detail. An analysis of Leopardi’s misanthropy renders the conventional interpretation of poems such as La ginestra erroneous and superficial. Specifically the concept of Leopardi as a poet of the fraternity of man and promoter of solidarity in the battle against Nature will be proven incorrect. iii DEDICATION To Lili, Chris and Natalia for your love and support. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank Rosemary and Michael Roney for teaching me the importance of culture and humanist philosophy from an early age. Audrey Eilts for her continuous interest in my studies and for always believing in the quality of my work. Duncan Macmillan for giving me the opportunity to apply and expand my knowledge and for believing in my ability. To Steffi and David Britt for the many great conversations and for a great friendship. To the members of the committee for your interest in my project. I really appreciate the time spent corresponding with me about my work and its progress. Professor Elizabeth Leake for sharing her time generously and for helping me express myself in writing better than I ever have. Carol Feinberg for her friendship, exceptional kindness and encouragement. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract................................................................................................................................ii Dedication...........................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgment.................................................................................................................v Chapter One - An Introduction ........................................................................................... 1 Prevailing Opinions on Leopardi: An Inaccurate View .................................................. 8 Leopardi’s Futile Quest for Satisfaction: The Source of his Disappointment .............. 23 Leopardi’s Early Formation: The Seeds of Misanthropy ............................................. 26 The Role of Women in Leopardi’s Life ........................................................................ 32 The Nature and Content of the Zibaldone ..................................................................... 37 Methodology ................................................................................................................. 41 Chapter Two - Dislike of Those Dissimilar to Us: Foreign Others and Nationalism ....... 54 Unifying Effects of Xenophobia ................................................................................... 57 Contrasting Imagery of Foreign Others ........................................................................ 63 Critical Views on Leopardi and Foreign Others ........................................................... 69 Roman Society and Humanity’s Fall From Grace ........................................................ 75 Biological Foundations of Misanthropy ....................................................................... 79 The Body Politic ........................................................................................................... 91 Chapter Three - Dislike of Those Similar to Us: Family, Peers, and Lovers ................... 97 Familiarity Breeds Contempt ...................................................................................... 102 Dislike of Similar Peers .............................................................................................. 110 The Role of Friendship ............................................................................................... 113 Women and Romance in Leopardi’s Life ................................................................... 115 A Silvia ....................................................................................................................... 119 Anti-Enlightenment Leopardi ..................................................................................... 129 Social Interactions of Young Leopardi ....................................................................... 134 Disenchantment with Fellow Italians.......................................................................... 139 Chapter Four - Dislike of Self ......................................................................................... 145 Suicide and Nature ...................................................................................................... 148 Suicide and Religion ................................................................................................... 153 Happiness and Tedium ................................................................................................ 158 Suffering and Solidarity .............................................................................................. 163 Recanati....................................................................................................................... 167 Torturous Memories.................................................................................................... 173 vi Chapter Five – Conclusion and Directions for Further Study ........................................ 177 The Role of Nature ...................................................................................................... 186 National Literature ...................................................................................................... 189 On Misanthropy .......................................................................................................... 195 CurriculumVitae............................................................................................................. 205 vii 1 Chapter One - An Introduction La mia filosofia, non solo non è conducente alla misantropia, come può parere a chi la guarda superficialmente, e come molti l’accusano; ma di sua natura esclude la misantropia, di sua natura tende a sanare, a spegnere quel mal umore, quell’odio, non sistematico, ma pur vero odio, che tanti e tanti, i quali non sono filosofi, e non vorrebbono esser chiamati nè creduti misantropi, portano però cordialmente a’ loro simili, sia abitualmente, sia in occasioni particolari, a causa del male che, giustamente o ingiustamente, essi, come tutti gli altri, ricevono dagli altri uomini. La mia filosofia fa rea d’ogni cosa la natura, e discolpando gli uomini totalmente, rivolge l’odio, o se non altro il lamento, a principio più alto, all’origine vera de’ mali de’ viventi ec.1 The literary work of Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837) has typically been analyzed by contrasting the noble values of the classical past against his perception of the inferior cultural condition found in the contemporary world. Leopardi believed that modern society at large was in decay as evidenced by the constant use of the word odio, hate, in relation to it and its members.2 Odio, and other misanthropic terms, are found so frequently and in such varied contexts in Lo Zibaldone, that one quickly understands that