Image credit: Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando furioso (Venice: Valgrisi, 1562), 392. Courtesy of the George  J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library.

A Narrative Shift? Ethnicity, Gender, and the Moon

Previous scholars have noted that the end of the poem marks a narrative shift from the rest of the poem. While most of the poem is characterized by twisting storylines with a lack of clear focus, the ending is noticeably different - Ariosto centralizes the many plotlines and focuses on the fairytale ending of Ruggiero and Bradamante’s wedding. Heather James, a professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Southern California, explains:

“one matter of form dominates modern criticism: the sense of the ending. No one disputes that all versions conclude in a dynastic compliment to the Estes of Ferrara, Ariosto’s patrons. The finale reaches its full statement in 1532, when Ariosto added elaborate set pieces in praise of the Este court. Yet this edition also heightens the tension between the Furioso’s dynastic goals and the formal liberties Ariosto takes earlier in the poem. Prior to the end, anything goes: an indefinite range of narrative possibilities may be spun from ancient, medieval, and contemporary forms of genre, aesthetics, moral philosophy, geography, history, depictions of warfare, and visions of sex and gender. Poetic traditions invite improvisation and change, while ideological rules seem there for the breaking. In the end, the principle of dynasty brings the plotlines to order but does little to justify the scope of the poem’s materials or the liberties Ariosto takes with them." (James, 2019, 163.)

As explained by James, before the end of the poem, Ariosto takes great creative liberties to carve out an expansive world filled with hundreds of characters who embark on their respective adventures. However, towards the end of the poem, the narrative appears to take a more ‘conventional’ shape, with storylines that have clear contours and defined boundaries. As Donald Carne-Ross, a Classics professor at Boston University, explained, “in the last third of the poem [... Ariosto] begins to move away from his own unique realm of instability and enters a far more conventional world, one where virtue is rewarded, actions have ends, and the faithful heart is secure.” (D. S. Carne-Ross, 1976, 204). 

Daniel Javitch, a professor of Renaissance Literature at New York University, explains that scholars have been critical of Ariosto’s changing narrative in the final cantos. The criticism from these scholars, according to Javitch, has stemmed from Ariosto’s “decision to regiment the poem’s dispersive plot and to end several of its futile quests, thereby muting the irreverent, skeptical spirit that made the poem extraordinary.” (Javitch, 2010, 386.) Javitch cites other authors - namely Professor Sergio Zatti, an Italian Literature professor at Università di Pisa - who have been critical of the fact that the poem becomes more ‘epic’ in the final cantos. According to Zatti, this ‘epicness’ of the poem’s ending replaces the sporadic tales of romance that dominate the earlier cantos and make the Furioso so engaging. Here is Zatti’s argument in Javitch’s words:

“[Zatti] argues that [the poem] progresses from romance to epic or, more precisely, as it moves toward its epic closure Ariosto gradually reduces, even eliminates, the formal conventions of romance that characterize the first half: for example, the digression and deferral that contribute to the proliferation of adventures and to the dispersive nature of the poem’s many plots. Moreover, according to Zatti, as Ariosto streamlines his narrative and seeks to bring it to a close, he alters the typical matter of romance: magical occurrences and interventions are diminished; protagonists are killed; those who survive no longer scatter but converge as the final victory of [Charlemagne’s] Christian forces is affirmed and celebrated; and intertextual markers signal “una volontà di recupero dell’epos” (a wish to restore the epic genre.)” (Javitch, 2010, 387.)

In sum, scholars have distinguished the end of the poem from the earlier cantos. What constitutes the turning point towards the ‘end’ and this narrative shift has been debated. Some scholars point to the final canto, 46, some point to Canto 30 (D.S. Carne-Ross), while others look to the last nine cantos (Javitch and Zatti.) Based on our reading, we felt that the poem took a narrative shift beginning with the moon episode in Canto 34. Unlike the previous cantos - where storylines were started, abruptly interrupted, and picked up later - in the moon episode, Ariosto followed a single character throughout his entire journey on the moon. Additionally, Ariosto continued the moon episode into Canto 35, whereas in previous canti the end of a canto marked a change in the story. Moreover, Ariosto used the moon episode as a prolonged 4th wall break, where he made biting criticisms of human nature, Italian culture, and courtly society. In earlier canti, these fourth wall breaks were usually short and located at the beginning of the canti. Conversely, in the moon episode, Ariosto used tens of octaves between 34 and 35 to speak directly to the audience. 

We were curious whether this narrative shift could be modeled digitally. More specifically, we were curious to see if (a) after the moon episode, Ariosto focuses much more on the European characters and (b) whether the focus towards the end of the poem centers around the male characters. We hypothesized that the departure from the chaos of the previous canti may be accompanied by a focus on a few key European characters as opposed to some of the more fringe non-European characters. Moreover, because male characters are more common in the poem (see the second figure, below), we hypothesized that a narrative focus might also include increased mentions of male characters.  

The scholarship provides some support for our hypothesis that the poem becomes more euro-centric towards its conclusion. David Quint, a professor of Comparative Literature at Yale University, explains that Ariosto deliberately kills off the pagan heroes towards the end of the poem. He notes while almost all the main pagan characters are killed, only one prominent Christian character dies. Quint writes, “in a poem where virtually all the pagan champions are slain, Brandimarte is the only major Christian hero [...] to die.” (Quint, 1994, 76.) To Quint, the deaths of these pagan warriors accompany the epic conclusion of the poem and its movement away from the subplots embarked upon by the pagan knights. He argues, “the killing off, one by one, of [the poem’s] pagan knights as so many impediments to closure accompanies the epic progress of the Furioso and the shutting down of its digressive and dilatory subplots.” (Quint, 1994, 83.) Quint adds, “the simultaneous elimination of pagan champions and of romance adventure, moreover, seems to identify such adventure itself as pagan.” (Quint, 1994, 83.)

Quint also contends that Charlemagne’s victory over the pagan forces, coupled with Ruggiero’s killing of Rodomonte - the “last remaining African hero” - in the final canto symbolically represent the victory of the Christian world over the pagan world. Quint argues that “the marriage of Ruggiero and Bradamante that founds the Este Dynasty and - once Orlando regains his sanity and rejoins the forces of Charlemagne - the martial victory of Christian Europe over Islamic Africa, [creates] a victory so total that virtually no pagan escapes. The two plots come together in the final episode of the poem, where Ruggiero must fight and kill Rodomonte, the last remaining African hero, at his wedding feast.” (Quint, 1994, 83.) Based on Quint’s assertion of the ‘total’ victory of the Christian forces, we were curious to see if Christian characters would make up an increasing proportion of the total characters mentioned towards the end of the poem as their pagan counterparts are slain. 

Regarding gender, there is less scholarly consensus that clear trends in gender treatment exist in the poem. Ita Mac Carthy, a professor of Italian Literature at the University of Durham, argues that it is difficult to draw precise conclusions on Ariosto’s views on gender from the Furioso. Mac Carthy writes, “the  vacillating  nature  of  the  Furioso’s  aesthetic  hampers  the  formulation  of  neat conclusions, particularly regarding gender.” (Mac Carthy, 2005, 195.) While Ariosto exhibits a pro-feminine attitude through strong female characters like Marphisa and Bradamante, the sexualization and traditional gender roles applied to other female characters makes his stance on gender difficult to identify. Concerning this ‘vacillating’ treatment of women, Mac Carthy adds, “the text’s apparent pro-feminism in one octave becomes scarcely concealed anti-feminism in the next.” (Mac Carthy, 2005, 180.) Nonetheless, we hypothesized that the poem becomes more male-centric towards its conclusion because of the dominance of male characters and the misogynist attitudes of 1500s Italian society. Despite the instances of pro-feminism, Mac Carthy still notes that Arisoto creates a “patriarchal world” in the Furioso. (Mac Carthy, 2005, 183.)

Discussion

Europeans have the highest relative frequency of mentions of any ethnicity group. Ariosto was an Italian poet writing for an Italian audience, so it is no surprise that Europeans would be the most common ethnicity for the characters. It is interesting to note, however, that the other groups roughly make up the other 50% of mentions in the poem. Perhaps this dichotomy reflects the duality of war that is central to the story – particularly the constant battles between Charlemagne’s Christian forces and their pagan enemies. 

The visuals provide little support for our hypothesis that the poem becomes more euro-centric after the moon episode. The canti after 35 are largely similar to the ones that come previous in terms of the distribution of ethnicity groups. In fact, there are several cantos before the moon episode where Europeans make up over 75% of the characters mentioned, whereas in some canti after the moon episode, that number does not reach 50%. 

Similarly, the visuals do not suggest that the story becomes dominated by males after the moon episode. While men make up the majority of character mentions throughout the poem, the distribution does not make any noticeable changes after the Astolpho goes to the moon in Canti 34 and 35.