Il patto col lupo. Impianto narratologico e proiezioni iconografiche

Abstract

In fables, the wolf does not attack men, but pretends to be their ally: even though he signs with the shepherd an agreement that he regularly breaks, he attacks sheep at the earliest opportunity. The agreement between the wolf and the shepherd reappears in the iconographical transposition of fables, such as in Giulio Romano’s drawings. St. Francis (Little Flowers, XXI) drives the wolf to make peace with the inhabitants of Gubbio through a formal act. In a miniature from a manuscript of Boethius’ De philosophiae consolatione, depicting an allegorical reading of the encounter between Circe and Ulysses, the Homeric hero foils the sorceress’ cunning plans by opposing the antidote with his left forefinger raised towards heaven. In Branduardi’s re-reading, the Saint of Assisi seals the pact with the wolf with a hand pointed out to heaven. In the confrontation with the wolf, the behavior of the wolf depends on the socio-cultural contexts and on the anthropological dynamics the fable is aimed to show.