The last cross

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"This study, whose title draws from an aria in Ponchielli's opera La Gioconda, in which the heroine sings of voluntary death as "the last cross" to be born in her life's journey ("Suicidio!.. Ultima croce/Del mio cammin"), offers an original history of a timehonored and intriguing theme as it recurs throughout the whole of a major European literature. Beginning with an introductory discussion which provides the philosophical and theological background necessary for an appreciation of the widely divergent ways in which the awesome act of self-destruction has been viewed in both antiquity and the Christian era, the Author proceeds to explore its rich and varied portrayals in the Italian literary tradition from the Middle Ages to our own time. Written so as to be accessible to a broad readership, this history will prove of interest to Italianists of all specializations, as well as to students and scholars of literature in general."--Publisher description.