Contesto generale La novella di Cisti il fornaio è la seconda della sesta giornata del Decameron di Boccaccio. In questa giornata, tutte le novelle hanno un tema comune: il modo elegante e intelligente (con arte e garbo) con cui i personaggi riescono a rispondere a situazioni difficili, spesso grazie all’arguzia, alla prontezza di spirito o all’uso sapiente delle parole (i cosiddetti “motti”). La narratrice è Pampinea, una delle sette giovani protagoniste del Decameron, che introduce la novella con una riflessione: a volte la natura e la fortuna premiano persone di umili origini, dotandole di un'anima nobile e virtuosa, proprio come accade a Cisti. Trama in breve Cisti è un fornaio fiorentino, quindi un uomo del popolo, ma di grande eleganza, educazione e intelligenza. Egli possiede un ottimo vino bianco, che desidera offrire a Geri Spina, un nobile fiorentino che ogni giorno passa davanti alla sua bottega insieme agli ambasciatori di papa Bonifacio VIII. Cisti però sa che, ...
In 19th century the novel is considered the leading literary genre because it reflected the new social and economic developments, scientific discoveries and the ethical problems raised by Industrial Revolution.
Novels were commonly read by all people, from the upper classes to lower classes, who expected to be instructed and, at the same time, to be entertained.
Victorian novels met these expectations presenting conformity to accepted moral standards together with a great liveliness.
The most important Victorian novelist, Charles Dickens, shows in his novels his consciousness of social injustice, poverty and suffering of the masses, political incompetence and corruption.
Hard Times, for example, deals with the themes of the inhumanity of the factory system and the unnatural teaching methods of the utilitarian philosophy.
However, Dickens' social concerns don't make him question the foundations of Victorian society - utilitarian philosophy and factory system-; in fact, he chooses a narrative solution that, instead of questioning the system of social relations and the organization of wor, divides the characters into good and bad.
Another theme presented in Victorian novels is Romantic love, which is treated with mastery by Emily and Charlotte Brontë.
The Brontë treat in their novels the archetypal of Romantic love which doesn't follow social conventions and survives after death.
In Wuthering Heights written by Emily Brontë, for example, the main male character, Heathcliff, is dominated by his self-destructive passion for Catherine. Catherine, the main female character, is forced to sacrifice her love for Heathcliff for the sake of social conventions.
Despite all, the early Victorian novel reflected the point of view of the upper class.
For example, Vanity Fair written by William Makepeace Thackeray (a Dickens' counterpart) reveals the hypocrisy and lack of morals of the ruling class.
Then, the early Victorian novels were characterized by a mild realism.
The characters of the novel were accepted by the majority of readers and identification on the part of the public was mainly in terms of comedy or drama of passion.
Narrators were omniscient at different levels: Dickens is a companion to the reader; Emily Brontë in Wuthering Heights makes use of three narrators who represent three different points of view.
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