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Flirting with the Chameleon: Alberti on Love

Cracolici, Stefano

Authors



Abstract

Within the vastness and variety of Leon Battista Alberti's work, the theme of love seems to pose a rather intractable problem, approached so far as a mere expression of his chameleonic versatility and, as such, as a juvenile example of his rhetorical mastery. And yet, the pervasiveness of the theme of love--amicable love, fraternal love, paternal love, uxorial love, but also sentimental love--in his writings claims for a more detailed account. This article aims at discussing Alberti's personal treatment of love by focusing on his Deifira, the first love dialogue ever written in the Italian vernacular, in accordance with its intellectual outline, its phenomenological design, and its philosophical significance, in order to illuminate what can be understood as an archeology of the emotional experience--an archeology of the emotional gestures and of the emotional words concealed in Alberti's amorous writings.

Citation

Cracolici, S. (2006). Flirting with the Chameleon: Alberti on Love. Modern Language Notes, 121(1), 102-129

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date 2006-01
Deposit Date Mar 19, 2008
Journal MLN: Modern Language Notes
Print ISSN 0149-6611
Electronic ISSN 1080-6598
Publisher Johns Hopkins University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 121
Issue 1
Pages 102-129
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1549736
Publisher URL http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/mln/v121/121.1cracolici.html