UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles The Orphan-Hero in Italian Renaissance Epic A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Italian by Sarah Sixmith Vogdes Cantor 2020 © Copyright by Sarah Sixmith Vogdes Cantor 2020 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION The Orphan-Hero in Italian Renaissance Epic by Sarah Sixmith Vogdes Cantor Doctor of Philosophy in Italian University of California, Los Angeles, 2020 Professor Andrea Moudarres, Chair “The Orphan-Hero in Italian Renaissance Epic” investigates a commonplace present in epic poetry from antiquity to the Renaissance: the orphan-hero, a protagonist who grows up without the guidance of biological parents. The study traces this figure from its origins to the early modern period, beginning with classical epic in the introduction and focusing on 16th- and early 17th- century Italian poems in the body of the dissertation, namely Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando furioso (1532), Torquato Tasso’s Gerusalemme liberata (1581), Tullia d’Aragona’s Il Meschino (1560), Moderata Fonte’s Floridoro (1581), Margherita Sarrocchi’s Scanderbeide (1623), and LucreZia Marinella’s L’Enrico (1635). Through analysis of these works, I address the following critical questions: 1) What links orphanhood and heroism? 2) Why might poets deem this tradition worthy of continuation? 3) Do modifications to the orphan-hero by different Renaissance authors reveal or emphasiZe shifts in thinking during the period? In particular, to what extent do the female authors fashion their orphan-heroes to fit an early modern feminist purpose? ii I propose that the vulnerability inherent in the parentless state is significant to the subsequent development of heroic qualities in Renaissance epic heroes. Authors of epic choose orphanhood for their heroes not only to continue with tradition, which is all-important for the genre, but also to give certain heroes distinctive upbringings and acknowledge the social circumstances of contemporary orphans. I postulate that the prevalence of the orphan-hero in Renaissance epic speaks to a general anxiety about familial legitimacy during the period, a relevant issue in epic given its emphasis on genealogy and family dynasties. Lastly, using a comparative approach between the orphan-heroes of the two canonical male poets under consideration and those of their four lesser-known female counterparts, I elucidate how the female authors envision an alternative role for contemporary women, both inside and outside the family. The female authors modify their characters to give more agency, skill, and independence to women than were supplied by the canonical poets. For the female epic hero, as for the Renaissance female author, proving one’s legitimacy is more difficult and therefore even more crucial. iii The dissertation of Sarah Sixmith Vogdes Cantor is approved. Massimo Ciavolella Lucia Re Eleonora Stoppino Andrea Moudarres, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2020 iv For the second Dr. Cantor, from the third v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Committee .......................................................................................................................... iv Dedication ........................................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................. vii Vita ..................................................................................................................................... xi Introduction: Gens orphani: Gender, Genre, and Genealogy in Renaissance Epic ............ 1 Chapter 1: Ariosto and Tasso’s Orphans ......................................................................... 34 Chapter 2: What’s in a Name? D’Aragona’s Il Meschino, altramente detto il Guerrino ................................ 81 Chapter 3: Nature and Nurture in Fonte’s Floridoro ...................................................... 129 Chapter 4: Homeland and Homecoming in Sarrocchi’s Scanderbeide .......................... 176 Chapter 5: From Wilderness to Civilization: Female Figures in Marinella’s L’Enrico ....................................................... 238 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 282 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 300 vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am extremely grateful to the many people and entities who made this dissertation possible. To Professor Andrea Moudarres, my committee Chair, mentor, and friend: your guidance has shaped my graduate career over the last seven years. Thank you for your dedication to my academic development, your advice and warm encouragement, and your endless availability. Every time I was surprised to find myself at the next stage of graduate school, you would always tell me cheerfully, “kids grow up!” And here we are today, with a dissertation written more or less on that very subject. I really appreciate everything you have done for me. My deep gratitude also goes to my committee members, Professors Massimo Ciavolella, Lucia Re, and Eleonora Stoppino. Your feedback and support throughout the process of writing have been tremendously valuable. Thank you, above all, for setting inspiring examples of what it means to be in this field. Your individual areas of expertise have had a profound impact on this project and on my education. There are many people at UCLA who have gone above and beyond their specific roles to make my experience as a graduate student as enriching as it was. Thank you to each of the professors in the Department of Italian, who have defined my scholarly formation. Particular thanks are due to Professor Ciavolella as my other Medieval and Renaissance mentor and Director of the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. You have given me innumerable and unparalleled opportunities to thrive academically, both at UCLA and in the wider world of Italian studies. I owe you an enormous debt of gratitude for your unending support. I am also grateful to Karen Burgess, Benay Furtivo, and Brett Landenberger for all of your help at the CMRS over the years. vii I would also like to acknowledge Professor Elissa Tognozzi as the fearless leader of our language program. Thank you for the meaningful lessons you have imparted in pedagogy, practicality, collegiality, and how to think about the future. We are all better teachers, and students, for your presence. I am also very much obliged to Dr. Claire Lavagnino for your expert guidance in the fundamentals of pedagogy and your patience with us as your students years ago. To Kerry Allen, thank you for steering our departmental ship with skill and grace. Your adept navigation of bureaucracy has kept me, and all of us, afloat. To Vanessa Carlos, I thank you for your tireless work on our conference on women writers. The entire staff in Royce 212 has been such a strong backbone for the department. Thank you. I am grateful to the community of scholars who work on female authors of Renaissance epic, who have been so welcoming and have offered me advice. I am especially indebted to Julia Hairston and John McLucas for kindly allowing me access to their translation of Tullia d’Aragona’s Il Meschino, altramente detto il Guerrino prior to its publication (The Wretch, Otherwise Known as Guerrino, edited and translated by Julia Hairston and John McLucas, forthcoming in The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe series by Iter and ACMRS Press). Your generosity was of great assistance to me in writing Chapter 2. Thank you to the UCLA Graduate Division and the Mellon Foundation, which provided me with fellowships in the last two years. I appreciate the financial support that has enabled me to prepare and complete the dissertation. viii I also want to recognize my Italian professors at Vassar, who put me on this path in the first place and have encouraged me ever since. Professors John Ahern, Roberta Antognini, Rodica Blumenfeld, Simona Bondavalli, and Eugenio Giusti, I am so grateful for the spark you lit in me, and it has brought me such joy to continue our relationships beyond college. Thank you also to the faculty of the Department of French and Italian at Northwestern University, who helped me to realize that graduate school was the next step for me. To my colleagues at UCLA: it is rare to find such a supportive group of graduate students, and even rarer to count among them some of one’s closest friends. To Viola Ardeni and Adele Sanna, I could not have asked for better allies with whom to embark on and share this entire experience. To Adriana Guarro Romero, it is hard to express the extent of my gratitude for having found a sister in you. To Federica Di Blasio, thank you for being my comrade-in-arms during this last year. To Megan Tomlinson, I am grateful you have taken up the torch. Lastly, I wish to thank my dear family. To my mother, who is always right there back of me, your constant cheerleading and comfort have meant so much. Thank you for listening to every little thing. To my father, my very own Coach Taylor, who has poured almost