Marfisa’s Requiem, Merlinesque and Atlantean: Undying Spectacle in Twentieth-Century Ferrara
This article analyzes early twentieth-century adaptations of Ludovico Ariosto’s character Marfisa from Orlando furioso (1532). The 1933 celebrations organized in Ferrara for Ariosto’s quatercentenary generated numerous literary and artistic tributes, including adaptations of his work that spotlight Marfisa as protagonist. Interlacing with sixteenth-century Ferrarese history, the poet’s fierce heroine became the focus of inventive mythology. The historical princess Marfisa d’Este (1554-1608), who performed as her literary counterpart in Furioso-inspired entertainments at court, influenced the character Marfisa’s reception, transforming accounts of both women from stories of noble deeds to whispers of murderous mischief in later centuries. This article demonstrates how historical Marfisa and poetic Marfisa work together to extend a genealogy of supposedly wicked Este women, starting with the beheaded wife of Marquis Niccolò III d’Este, Parisina Malatesta (1404-1425), whose figure intrigued the very poets enchanted and haunted by Marfisa. Special emphasis is given to the libretti Marfisa, leggenda lirica (1929) by Ferruccio De Lupis and Marfisa, poema corale per voci d’uomini (1923, 1928, 1931) by Domenico Tumiati, authors whose prose works similarly reflect on the undying spectacle of chivalric Ferrara.
