Camilletti, Fabio (2012) Urszenen : dream logic and myth in the first page of Leopardi's Zibaldone. Italian Studies, Vol.67 (No.1). pp. 56-69. doi:10.1179/174861812X13202431699886

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Abstract

This essay analyses the first three fragments of Leopardi's Zibaldone — a brief description in prose, a poetic sketch, and a paraphrase from Avianus's fable De nutrice et infanti — arguing that their implicit and subterranean connections stage a superimposition between `episodic' and `semantic' memories. By questioning traditionally established readings of the text, it asserts an inner relationship of the fable with the first two fragments, through which mythical reminiscences connected to Hecate resonate behind an apparently innocent nocturnal idyll. By comparing Leopardi's text with Freud's case of the `Wolf Man', as well as with the ambiguities undergone by the notion of `primal scene' (Urszene) in his intellectual development, the essay highlights the interweaving of both phylogenetic and ontogenetic spheres in Leopardi's works, thus attempting an analysis of the relationship between rationalism and myth within post-Enlightenment modernity.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts > School of Modern Languages and Cultures > Italian
Journal or Publication Title:	Italian Studies
Publisher:	Maney Publishing
ISSN:	0075-1634
Official Date:	2012
Dates:	Date Event 2012 Published
Volume:	Vol.67
Number:	No.1
Page Range:	pp. 56-69
DOI:	10.1179/174861812X13202431699886
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access

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