«Studiare i classici». Apuleio nei capitoli XX e XXI dei Promessi sposi

Abstract

As with many other classical works, Apuleius’s Metamorphoses (also known as The Golden Ass) was not well-received by the Romantics, and such a position is demonstrated by Pietro Borsieri’s 1819 review in Conciliatore of the publication of Firenzuola’s vernacular edition of the work by a Milanese publisher. While Manzoni, in his Lettera sul Romanticismo, rejected the ‘imitation’ of Greek and Latin authors, he nevertheless encouraged writers to ‘study’ their works, thereby demonstrating a different opinion with respect to that of his peers. The ironic references to classical mythology that emerge in various pages of the Promessi Sposi are also to be found in Apuleius’ work. However, an even more prominent reference emerges in the description of Lucia’s abduction at the hands of the Unnamed in chapters XX and XXI, and in particular in the character of the old woman whose duty it is to keep watch over Lucia. This article analyses the connection between this part of Promessi Sposi and the Latin source (even more pertinent than any link with Scott’s Ivanhoe), underlining the importance of a tie that has not yet been fully acknowledged by scholars.