His memoir, titled, The Story of My Life offers an 18th-Century perspective on social ethics – or their absence. There’s a challenge here: Casanova is believed to have written candidly about changing his identity, playing pranks, womanizing, breaking out of jail, and his list of misdeeds goes on. He presents himself as a liar to others, so it is fair to ask about the veracity of his memoir. A trial lawyer would ask Casanova, if you’re telling us you lied to all those people, why should we believe you’re telling us the truth now?
Historians and biographers who have researched Casanova’s story say there appear to be many instances in his memoir corroborated by some contemporary sources. And more complete versions of his original, 3,500-page manuscript have been published since the 1960s. So, what we have in Casanova’s memoir is the perspective of an arrogant, self-centered, egotistical 18th-Century scoff-law and womanizer, writing at the end of his life about his escapades. For some, it is a rollicking good story. For others, it offers a measure of how much – or how little – social ethics have changed.
A painting of Giacomo Casanova by Francesco Narici, circa 1760
“The sweetest pleasures are the hardest to win.”
-Italian diarist Giacomo Casanova, born on this day in 1725
#WriterSky #BookSky #Memoir #SocialEthics #Scofflaw #Womanizer #History #BOTD
