Submitted by Misia, Feb 19, 2007 13:35

How could one agree more--and this piece does a fine job of capturing the reasons for Casanova's enduring appeal. He casts his spell on the intelligent men who acquaint themselves with him as often as he does with the women. I've made myself hoarse recommending Casanova's Histoire to people. Yet I find that it still remains such an under-read book, and he a misrepresented man. Why so? How is it that Casanova's monumental and fascinating Memoirs are not a great and beloved classic, a bestseller even? Why has he been so often and so blatantly abused by popular myth, fiction and cinema? Fellini portrayed him as a ridiculous, pretentious, self-serving, amoral and unfeeling cad. Why this desire to turn him into a circus animal, when he was actually a man genuinely admired and respected by most of his most illustrious contemporaries? Meanwhile, a wealth of other movies represent him as a two-dimensional swashbuckling Lothario without taking his immense intellect and culture remotely into account. Even worse, he is turned into an insipid and Disneyfied romantic hero--see the recent Lasse Hallstrom piece of cinematic candyfloss! What henious crimes! I can't imagine anyone who has actually read the Histoire, then wanting to do anything but restore the man's image to something closer to its historic reality. Or maybe, I'm just being naive thinking that this would be the case. Would everyone have such honesty and good faith towards Casanova?

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