Work in Boccaccio's 'Decameron' (Giovanni!Boccaccio)

被引:1
|
作者
Barsella, Susanna [1 ]
机构
[1] Fordham Univ, Bronx, NY 10458 USA
关键词
Boccaccio; concept of work; Decameron; humanism; novella;
D O I
10.3200/RQTR.54.3.231-254
中图分类号
I3/7 [各国文学];
学科分类号
摘要
This article investigates the value of work in the Decameron, bringing an economic perspective to Boccaccio studies and highlighting the shift to humanistic values in the economic setting of the Decameron. In the literature of humanism, the concept of work is strongly connected to the effort of constructing a just and pious society. It is also a determinant for evaluating the change of mentality that occurred in the fourteenth century In Boccaccio, more than in any other author of the trecento, the representation of work, as presented in many novelle, reveals the accomplished passage toward a positive vision of human beings and their creative capacities. Writing itself emerges as an intellectual profession related to moral education. Barsella's analysis of work in the Decameron illustrates the political and moral decadence not only of the aristocracy, but also of the mercantile class, and shows the emerging role of new civic professions, including the artist and the writer. The Decameron is less an epic of the merchants than the portrait of a society undergoing deep changes and moving toward a new system of values. Against a medieval backdrop, this study highlights the intellectual profile of Boccaccio the humanist.
引用
收藏
页码:231 / 253
页数:23
相关论文
共 50 条