TOW #8 IRB / The Vienetian Years / Following The Death of His Grandmother

TOW #8 IRB / The Vienetian Years / Following The Death of His Grandmother

            Casanova is a young Venetian, living during the 18^th century, trying to make his way through life in the most grandiose way possible. After the death of his grandmother and preceding legal troubles from being in debt Casanova left Venice for Naples where he took up the cloth and joined a seminary.  This only lasted so long until his debt caught up with him, landing him in prison.   After being released from prison he takes up a job with a powerful Cardinal in Rome as a scribe.   Through out his memoirs Casanova utilizes detailed allusions of people and various activities to make his tales more believable to his audience, the aristocratic people of Europe.  Casanova’s dyeing purpose in writing these memoirs is to share his stories with these very people. 

            Casanova is successful in doing this because of explaining how he worked for the Cardinal, Acquaviva, in Rome and by using allusions to further the ethos in his writing.  During this time a Cardinal was someone of great importance and would have been well known by the aristocratic people, so by explaining his time in the service of Acquaviva Casanova strengthens the ethos behind his stories.  Casanova also makes allusions to different works of literature to strengthen his ethos.  One of these allusions is the memorable term “Star-crossed Lovers” from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, which demonstrates how he is well versed in literature, something the aristocratic people would admire.  By using these references to notable individuals and notable works of literature Casanova is able to further the ethos of his memoir, which motivates the aristocratic people into fully believing Casanova’s tales. 

            Giacomo Girolamo Casanova was an Italian adventurer, writer, priest, secret agent and visionary who was born in Venice and educated in Padua.

http://www.casanova-giacomo.com/