L’Homme et l’Animal dans les recueils de conte italiens (XVIe-XVIIe siècle) : figures aux frontières des espèces chez Giovan Francesco Straparola et Giambattista Basile

Details

Supervisors

Mostaccio, Silvia

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master [120] en histoire, à finalité approfondie

Abstract

enThis research aims to question the relationship between man and animal in the modern era through imaginary figures situated on the frontier of the species. Based on literature from the 16th and 17th centuries, this thesis uses two collections of tales as its main sources: Le piacevoli notti by Giovan Francesco Straparola (1551) and Lo cunto de li cunti by Giambattista Basile (1634-1636). Other sources are used to anchor these works in the general context of the period studied. The study is based on the analysis of tales and typical figures present in them: bestialized man, humanized animal, metamorphoses, hybrid monsters. Mobilising both literary theories and a historical methodology, this study shows the tales as a place of dialogue between the different theories on animality and humanity. This boundary between species is mobilised in the tales to express a whole range of social criticisms, questionings, and anxieties specific to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, showing us our authors' vision on humanity and the society in which they live in.