La Cassaria

La Cassaria is a five-act comedy by Ludovico Ariosto that premiered on March 5, 1508 at the court of Ferrara. It is the first major comedy in Italian and should later be used in Italian comedies such as B. Bernardo Dovizi da Bibbiena's La Calandria (1513), Pietro Aretino's first version of La Cortigiana (1525) or Ruzante's Piovana (1532?) Decisively influence.

content

The following content refers to the version of 1508.

prolog

The content of the prologue can be divided into two sections. In the first section Ludovico Ariosto defends La Cassaria against hasty critics, in the second section he introduces the audience to the plot.

First of all, Ariosto formulates the claim not only to be innovative in terms of content compared to Latin and Greek models, but also linguistically: a classic that is unique to the volgare should be created. He defends the claim of the new against conservative viewers, who only saw the completion of the drama in antiquity. It is true that the volgare cannot be compared with the language of antiquity, but this does not mean that the authors of the present are therefore necessarily inferior to those of antiquity. Ariosto justifies this with the equality of people before God. He considers the volgare mixed with Latin to be barbaric, but this can be remedied with linguistic tricks.

In order to have said everything necessary in the prologue, Ariosto finally introduces the viewer to the plot, presents his play as Cassaria and names the place of the plot: Metellino (today Mitilini , town on the Greek island of Lesbos ).

first act

The very wealthy businessman Crisobolo left his home to take care of his business in Negroponte (today's Euboea ). He left his servants and his son Erofilo behind. He has entrusted one of his servants, Nebbia, with the keys to his room, in which, among other riches, is the chest that gives it the title. Erofilo has waited a long time for this moment because he has fallen in love with Eulalia, one of the slaves of the coupler Lucranio, who recently settled in the neighborhood. His friend and son of the local ruler or pasha, Coridoro, feels the same way. The latter, in turn, fell in love with another of the girls enslaved by the matchmaker and offered for sale, Corisca. Since Erofilo and Coridoro have extremely stingy parents, they have so far not been able to buy their loved ones. Now that they think their father Erofilos is traveling, they want to carry out a long-cherished plan. Time is of the essence as Lucranio's long wait for lucrative customers is gradually getting into financial difficulties. At first he considers prostituting his slaves, which would make them unfit for marriage and therefore unprofitable. Therefore, he decides to fake his departure and thereby put Erofilo and Caridoro under pressure.

Second act

One of Erofilo's servants, Volpino, is the author of the plan. The plan is to steal or snatch the keys to the father's room from Nebbia and to send them away with the rest of the servants so that there are no witnesses if the chest is stolen. Furthermore, two other servants, who are known to Volpino, but who serve another, distant master, are to be involved in the plan, especially since they have to leave for their home the next morning. One of these two, Trappola, is supposed to go to Lucranio dressed as a rich businessman in the costly robes of Crisobolo and offer him the precious chest from Crisbolo's room as a deposit for Eulalia. The other servant, Brusco, is to accompany him and carry the chest. After the chest was handed over, Erofilo should report the matchmaker to the Pasha and claim that Lucranio had stolen the chest from him. If Lucranio were once in the power of the Pasha, Coridoro could blackmail him into handing Corisca over to him.

Third act

So that the plan does not fly, Eulalia should not be brought to Erofilo after the pledge of the chest, but to a certain Lena (not mentioned later). The plan fails because Trappola is left in the lurch after the trade by Brusco and afterwards, alone with Eulalia, is attacked by the servants of Erofilos. These are the servants of Erofilos, who were sent away in the first act so that no witness would be present when the chest was stolen. On their way home, they watch Trappola buy Eulalia from Lucranio. Since they are not privy to the plans of Volpino, but know of Erofilos' violent love for Eulalia, they believe they are acting in favor of Erofilos when they steal Eulalia. In order not to be recognized as a servant of Erofilos, they intend to put Eulalia with a friend of Erofilos. After the attack, Erofilo and Volpino come across Trappola, who tells them about what happened. While Erofilo is only interested in Eulalia's whereabouts, Volpino is worried about the chest. Meanwhile, Lucranio, who has now regained his wealth, is actually thinking of leaving that same night in order to forestall a possible accusation of fraud by the unknown buyer Eulalias (Trappolas).

Fourth act

Volpino's concern about the chest increases, especially since Erofilo went in search of Eulalia instead of, as planned, reporting the alleged theft of the chest to the Pasha. In the meantime he has also learned from an acquaintance that Crisobolo had found it unnecessary to see that everything was going well in Negroponte, since he had received mail from there, through which he had been able to find out all about his business there. Crisobolo, who had been with a debtor the whole time, now returns home and meets Volpino, who has devised a new trick or lie to get Erofilo and himself out of the affair (not out of sympathy for Erofilo , but out of self-interest, since Erofilo is Crisobolo's successor): Nebbia (see first act) in his (supposed) negligence did not lock Crisobolo's room as he was told, which is why the matchmaker was able to penetrate there unnoticed and steal the chest. When Nebbia noticed the loss of the chest, he gave Erofilo the keys and went away under some pretext in order to blame Erofilo for the theft. During Nebbia's absence, he (Volpino) and Erofilo talked about the hunt. It occurred to Erofilo that his hunting horn must be in his father's room. During the search for the horn, the loss of the chest became known to everyone. Now it is up to Crisobolo to report the theft to the Pasha, but Crisobolo refuses because he considers the Pasha to be corrupt. Instead, he has a few friends called in to help him overpower Lucranio, usurp the chest and at the same time serve as witnesses to the discovery of the chest. In the meantime, Volpino does not manage to provide solid evidence that the matchmaker stole the chest. His plan finally fails when Crisobolo Trappola finds his robes in his house and remembers the version the matchmaker recently told him during the overpowering by him (Crisobolo) and his friends: a wealthy trader had the chest as a deposit for him given for Eulalia. Crisobolo has Trappola arrested, who then tells him the truth (see third act), whereupon Crisobolo again has Volpino arrested. Now Fulcio, a servant of Caridoro or the Pasha, who was involved in Volpino's plans the whole time, but has so far played a rather subordinate role, sees his hour to overtake Volpino of the rank of arch fraudster and intriguer and goes to Lucranio .

Fifth act

Fulcio recounts what has happened in the meantime: he had persuaded Lucranio that the pasha was looking for him and that he wanted to have him sentenced and executed. Since Fulcio is Caridoro's servant, Lucranio sought refuge with Caridoro. However, he refused, because he did not want to fall from grace with his father, who is the Pasha of Metellino. Fulcio advised Lucranio to bribe Caridoro with Corisca. Lucranio was now staying with Caridoro, but had to be removed or helped to escape from the supposed anger of the Pasha, for which money was needed. Since Erofilo refuses to raise the money, Fulcio has to take on this task. He devises one last ruse, goes to Crisobolo and tells him that Lucranio had reported Crisobolo to the Pasha. Crisobolo had the chest pledged by a third party so that he could then accuse him of theft. Crisobolo would now have two alternatives to choose from in order to silence the matchmaker: either he would give him Eulalia back or pay him an appropriate sum. Since Crisobolo knows nothing about Eulalia's whereabouts, he has no choice but to agree to the second alternative. Fulcio also succeeds in persuading Crisobolo to send Erofilo and Volpino as money messengers and in this way to remove the former from Crisobolos supervision and to free the latter from captivity. With the money that Fulcio Crisobolo can coax, Erofilo will be able to provide Eulalia for the next few years. The spectators are jokingly asked to leave the stands, as Corisca does not want to be seen when she is picked up and Lucranio cannot use any witnesses for his escape.

Differences between the version from 1529 and the version from 1508 (selection)

• The comedy no longer takes place in Metellino, but in Sibari .
• The places mentioned in the comedy Negroponte or Euboea and Cairo are accordingly now called Procida and Naples. Furthermore, the version from 1529 contains references to Genoa, Trapani and Sicily.
• The pascha mentioned in the prose version (1508) is referred to in the verse version (1529) as capitan di giustizia (German: ~ supreme judge ).
• It is not used in saraceni , aspri and sarafi , i.e. H. currencies ascribed to the Orient are paid, but in becci and ducati , d. H. currencies predominant in the Apennine Peninsula .
• The servant Brusco, who plays a subordinate role in the prose version (1508), is a peasant in the verse version (1529) who holds two longer monologues (verses 1090-1139, 1338-1363).
• A newly added person is the maid Stamma
• In the verse version (1529) there are (further) misogynous elements compared to the prose version, such as the mockery of women's addiction to cleaning as a vice.

people

• Crisobolo , wealthy businessman
• Erofilo , son of Crisobolo
• Caridoro , son of the Pasha, friend of Erofilus
• Fulcio , servant of Caridoro and the Pasha
• Lucrano , matchmaker
• Eulalia , slave of Lucranos, mistress of Erofilos
• Corisca , Lucrano's slave, Caridoro's mistress
• Nebbia , servants of Crisobolos and Erofilos
• Volpino , servants of Crisobolos and Erofilos
• Trappola , servant; Friend or acquaintance of Volpino
• Brusco , servant; Friend or acquaintance of Trappola
• other people: Critone , Aristippo , Furba , Gianda , Corbacchio , Morione , Gallo , Marso

Trivia

• Models are the comedies Terenz 'and Plautus ' as well as Boccaccio's Dekameron (~ 1349-1353) and PF Mantovanos Formicone (1503)
• In 1528/29 Ariosto wrote a version of the same comedy in verse.
• The title La Cassaria refers to intrigues surrounding a chest (Italian: "cassa").
• The place of the action is Mitilini on the island of Lesbos under the rule of the Ottomans, i. H. between 1462 and 1508.

Further information

• La Cassaria is a parable on the conditions at the Italian royal courts. The prince, represented here by Crisobolo, is unable to rule sensibly, while the courtiers, represented by the servants (especially Fulcio, Volpino and Nebbia), are in constant competition for the prince's favor and, if possible, uphold him dance around the nose. Accordingly, in La Cassaria there are numerous joking and critical allusions to life at court or at the curia or to the conduct of the princes.
• Although La Cassaria is a comedy, it conveys an honest, moralizing and at the same time pessimistic worldview. From this point of view, society is in constant decline. The youth treat the servants as if they were their own and also leave them important competences (such as Volpino or Fulcio) while they indulge themselves at leisure. The generation of fathers had worked hard to gain the wealth that youth wasted.
• The prologue of La Cassaria can also be regarded as a contribution to the Questione della lingua , albeit an insignificant one (cf. the 2nd section of the dedication and the 27th to 39th chapters of the first book by Baldassare Castigliones Il Libro del Cortegiano [1528 ]).
• The names (in part) express the character of the respective person (e.g. Erofilo ~ the erotomaniac, Volpino = the [clever] little fox [it. "Volpe" = English "fox"], Lucrano ~ the greedy [it . "Lucro" = German "profit"]).
• In addition to the overt ( misogynous ) sexism of the plot and the affirmation of patriarchal structures, La Cassaria has a racist note, especially against Albanians. Lucrano is the only person who is identified as an Albanian (see first act, scene 5). He is not only attributed particularly negative characteristics compared to other people, but also his relatives, his "blood" and his origin, which Lucrano confirms on top of that (see third act, scene 3). Trappola's introduction (cf. second act, scene 2) serves to discredit him because of his implied homosexuality.
• Other contemporary social aspects that are addressed or hinted at in La Cassaria : In the fifth scene of the first act, Caridoro alludes to the greedy soldiers of the Spanish occupiers who are housed in the private homes of the citizens. Still in the context of the Spanish occupation, Lucrano remarks in scene seven of the same act that foreigners are less popular than the truth at royal courts. In scene five of the third act, Lucrano Trappola tells that any villain will be admitted to the court of Rome. In scene five of the same act there is also an allusion to the corruption of the customs officers. In the second scene of the fourth act, Crisobolo prefers vigilante justice to going to court in order to get his trunk back, since he considers judicial officers to be lazy and corrupt. Judges would rather believe a pimp than a righteous man.
• The fourth act, scene 7, in which Crisobolo finds Trappola in his house and wants to confront him, but Trappola is silent, which is why Volpino offers to “translate” Trappola's gestures in order to talk him out of the tricky situation and his own plans Still being able to realize it is reminiscent of scene 53 by Roberto Benigis and Vincenzo Ceramis La vita è bella (1998, German: Life is beautiful ). In this scene the protagonist Guido is in a concentration camp with his family. A Nazi private listed the rules of conduct for the newcomers to the deportees. Since Guido, in order to relieve his little son Giosuè of any horror, sells him the deportation as a game that was given to him for his birthday, he offers himself to the private as a translator and "translates" his rules in his own way.
• For Mario Baratto one of the new things about La Cassaria is that for the first time a comedy was written that was based on the classics of antiquity, but not specifically on a classic, as was the case until then.
• The duration of the action extends (as required by Aristotle in his Poetics ) to a period of just under a day, i.e. H. of almost 24 hours.
• As requested by Aristotle, the unity of the plot is also observed, especially since the plot revolves around the confusion of love between Erofilo and Caridoro on the one hand and Eulalia and Corisca on the other. However, as Douglas Radcliff-Umstead has recognized, first Volpino, then the remaining servants of Crisobolo, then again Volpino and finally Fulcio takes the protagonist roles.

Literary influences

Plautus

• While the unexpected homecoming in La Cassaria causes Crisobolos Volpino to change his plans, the slave Tranio in Plautus' comedy Mostellaria (c. 200 BC) prevents his master's son from returning home from his secret feast by tells him his house is haunted.
• Having obtained the chest, Lucrano embarks on a tirade of self-praise. Claeterea in Plautus' Asinaria (approx. 212 BC) also praises herself.
• The element of travesty, e.g. B. Trappola's disguise in the expensive robes of Crisobolo, in order to deceive Lucrano and help the lovers to their goal, is likely to have found a model in several of Plautus' comedies. In Poenulus , for example, the manager Collybiscus is disguised as a stranger in order to gain access to the house of the coupler Lycus. In Pseudolus (191 BC), on the other hand, the slave Simmia is disguised as a messenger in order to gain possession of the girl Phoenicium by means of stolen letters and objects from the matchmaker Ballio.

Terence

• Crisobolo brings up his son strictly, as does Demea his son Ctesipho in Terenz 'comedy Adelphoe (160 BC)
• In the third scene of the third act of Phormio (161 BC), Phaedria, the son of ancient Chraemes, fears that the parasite Phormio will not reveal his beloved until Phaedria has paid a certain price. Because of his fears, Phaedria asks his loyal servant Geta to get him this money. Geta, in turn, tries to calm his master's desperate son. Erofilo is also desperate in scene six of the third act when he has learned that a group of servants has snatched his Eulalia from him. Volpino, in turn, tries to direct Erofilo's concern to the chest that Crisobolo entrusted to them, but which they used to buy Eulalia out.
• In scene three of the second act of Terence's comedy Heautontimoroumenos (163 BC), the slave Syrus explains to the son of his master Clitipho how he can get to his lover, to which Clitipho objects that Syrus' proposal should be accepted associated with great risks. Syrus turns away offended by his master's son, whereupon the latter gives up and Syrus agrees. In scene one of the second act of La Cassaria there is a similar dialogue between Volpino and Erofilo. Both Volpino and Syrus are aware that if their plan fails, they will be the real victims, unlike the sons of their masters.
• In his prologue to La Cassaria, Ariosto orientated himself on the prologue of Terenz 'to Andria (166 BC). While Terence received criticism for his comedy before the prologue was written, Ariosto would like to anticipate possible criticism, as he is aware that with his comedy he has founded a new genre in the vernacular.
• Both in La Cassaria and in Terence ' Andria there are two different servants: one who is devoted to his master, the other who is devoted to his master's son.

literature

• Ludovico Ariosto: Commedie 1. La Cassaria / I Suppositi (in prosa) (1997). Milano: Mursia.
• Ludovico Ariosto: Tutte le opere. Volume quarto. Commedie (1974). Milano: Mondadori.
• Mario Baratto: La fondazione di un genere (per un'analisi drammaturgia della commedia del Cinquecento). In: Maristella de Panizza Lorch (ed.): Il teatro italiano del Rinascimento (1980). Milano: Edizioni di Comunità: 7-17.
• Douglas Radcliff-Umstead: The Birth of Modern Comedy in Renaissance Italy (1969). Chicago / London: The University of Chicago Press.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ cf. Douglas Radcliff-Umstead: The Birth of Modern Comedy in Renaissance Italy (1969). Chicago / London: The University of Chicago Press: 69.
2. ↑ cf. Mario Baratto: La fondazione di un genere (per un'analisi drammaturgia della commedia del Cinquecento). In: Maristella de Panizza Lorch (ed.): Il teatro italiano del Rinascimento (1980). Milano: Edizioni di Comunità: 6.
3. ↑ cf. ibid .: 66.
4. ↑ all information on this section cf. ibid .: 68-69.
5. ↑ all information on this section cf. ibid .: 66-68.