Kerry Roeder

Dr. Kanuysik

Literary Studies

May 16th, 2019

The search for Laura’s existence.

Francesco Petrarch was born in 1304 and enjoyed life as a successful writer. Most

famously, The Canzoniere established him as one of the great writers of that era. The Canzoniere

was a selection of sonnet’s written over a forty-year span, focusing on a particular lady name

Laura. Petrarch met Laura in the Church of St. Clare in Avignon 1327 and the first sonnet in The

Canzoniere series was written shortly after. Petrarch was infatuated with Laura and, as seen in

the sonnets, he had deep and fiery love for her. Whilst Petrarch’s affection for Laura was

evident, her love for him seemed non-existent. To Petrarch, Laura fueled his desires in life. Some

critics, however, question the validity of Laura, and as the debate of the real existence of Laura

continues, the search for the creation of an imaginary Laura deepens.

Throughout The Canzoniere we see the development of a character, Laura. Petrarch is

very focused on the outward appearance of Laura, explaining her features in an objectifying way.

The first time he introduces Laura in the selection of sonnets, he writes “my lady, for your lovely

eyes had me bound” (Petrarch, page 5). The very first description of Laura is focused on her

outward appearance, and the development of his sonnets continue to highlight his objectification

of her. Within the use of objectification, he also explores his emotional response to her. By
Sonnet 90, the tone of Petrarch has changed from lustful to scorned. He states “Her eyes were

brighter than the radiant west, (seldom they shine so now) I used to see pity look out of those

deep eyes on me (“it was false pity” you would now protest)” (Petrarch, page 145). In this

sonnet, he explains the beauty of her eyes but in doing so Petrarch is also able to establish her

thoughts about him. Laura has a voice in this sonnet and we see that she had false pity for him,

highlighting that she is unattainable to him. The tone of this section is that of a jaded man,

scorned by rejection, but that is short lived. In Sonnet 116 he states “Full of that sweetness

indescribable that my eyes drew from such a lovely face the day on which I gladly would have

closed them to never look again at lesser beauty” (Petrarch, page 175). The continuation of his

objectification of Laura brings her to life, and in doing so also brings Petrarch’s love to life. The

emotional connection and attitude he had within the poems reflect that of a man who does not

have what he wants. Whilst he still clearly loves her, it is also clear that he is hurting.

Once the Sonnet’s were released critics and scholars alike were in search of explanation

and validity of the existence of Laura. Petrarch was very clear in his response to the conclusion

by some that Laura was simply a figure of his imagination. He responded “so what are you

saying? That I have invented the beautiful name of Laura merely so as to talk about her and

make myself widely talked about; that my mind is full not of the pursuit of Laura but of any

clear, continual and unwearied desire for the poetic Laurea; that my verse and my sightings, all

that concerns this living Laura, whose captive I pretend to be, are fictitious. In this at least I wish

you were joking and that I were feigning possession rather than being possessed”. (Trapp, page

60). His response makes it clear that his intention with Laura’s character was not to make

himself widely talked about but to instead to explain his continual desire for Laura, who left a

lasting impact in his life. As he continues throughout the sonnets he even addresses the critics,
stating in sonnet 129 “I have seen her many times (now who will believe me?)” (Petrarch, page

213). Petrarch was aware of the critics search for Laura, yet continued to keep her real identity

hidden. His personal response to this debate gives life to Laura, despite what the critics say.

Petrarch describes Laura, most commonly, through the use of metaphors. Any real

substantial key to her identity is withheld from the sonnets. It is clear “He does not discuss her

identity or find any proof of her historical existence: rather, he turns away from such naïve

discussion.” (Falkeid S67). Due to the lack of descriptions about other aspects of Laura’s

character, Petrarch inhibits anyone from finding her historical existence. He never produces her

real identity and this seemed to stir up more questions from critics. The question “That a real

Laura existed, however, became legend early in Petrarch’s career. People searched for a

candidate for her” (Petrarch, page xvii). To this day, it is unclear why Petrarch never unveiled

the true identity of Laura. Some scholars suggest it was because he simply didn’t want people to

know, others suggest that it was because she didn’t exist.

It is undeniable that Petrarch focuses on the outward appearance of Laura “he decants

often upon her golden hair, pale and beautiful face, dark eyebrows, shining eyes. Laura’s

clothing enhanced that part of her loveliness that was visible to the poet; a green robe, sometimes

embroidered with violet, or a scarlet or crisom one” (Trapp, page 66). His use of words is

important to note, as it highlights the intense infatuation he has for her. This description brings

Laura to life and establishes her as a real person. His descriptions of Laura leave her portrait to

be open to an artist’s imagination and many portraits have been made to try and establish the real

identity of Laura. It could be said he was not describing her in order for portraits to be drawn of

her but instead to show his love for her. This highlights scholars and critics desire to find the true
identity of Laura and poses the question of whether this was Petrarch's intention to increase the

popularity of Laura through the search of the validity of her existence.

Petrarch’s enables the reader to see just how much Laura means to him, further

contributing to the validity of her life. He states “but that fair, charming face that I bear painted

inside of me and I see everywhere compels me, and into those first cruel tortures I’m driven back

no less against my will” (Petrarch, page 151) This extension of objectification gives birth to a

compelling argument that the image establishes the metaphysical relationship between the two

which ultimately brings her to life. Aileen Feng writes “as he states ‘everywhere I look.’ This

image establishes the symbolic and metaphysical relationship between Petrarch and his beloved

Laura by making her ever-present, as image and as inspiration, yet completely unattainable”

(Feng, page 81). He is so in love with her that he sees her everywhere because she is a part of

him. The fact that she is not attainable to him only fuels his desire for her. It would be questioned

that if Laura was simply a figment of his imagination, wouldn’t he make her attainable for his

own desires? Instead, he is left tortured by such rejection and it is this rejection that gives life to

Laura.

As the debate of the real existence of Laura continues, we also have to look at the deeper

meanings present behind Laura. It has been examined that “She is a living woman, and the desire

of the poet is true enough. But Laura is real also in another sense. In the poems, she is judged to

be an allegory, as every human word-and certainly the written even more than the spoken- is a

displacement of our yearnings.” (Falkeid, page S69). One cannot deny that her character can be

determined to reveal a hidden meaning, and that meaning is to explore a moral or political one.

In this case, it would be argued that it would be a moral meaning, specifically in regards to

women in that era. “Discursively feminized in his writing, Petrarch’s patrons are exposed as
being subject to the author’s pen…. This comparison pits what I term Petrarch’s “intellectual

masculinity” against powerless women” (Feng, page 20). This is something that was common to

the era. Men were seen as intellectuals operating outside the home, whereas women’s roles were

inside the home and they were powerless against the man of the house. Some would argue that

Laura has power over Petrarch, as she denies his affection for her, but upon closer analysis,

Laura has no power over Petrarch’s pen. Petrarch gives and takes away her power within the

sonnets, which ultimately exhibits the moral confrontation between men and women of the time.

In Petrarch’s Sonnets we see that Laura doesn’t have a voice, “Laura rarely speaks in

Petrarch’s writings; her general silence is a testament to her chastity and reminder of the

unrequited love that defines her relationship to the poet” (Feng, Page 71). It is important to note

that the possible reason for her lack of voice in the sonnets may not be because she is not real,

but simply because she is committed to her chastity, something that was common in that era, and

was crucial to a woman. Even talking randomly to an unattached male would leave a woman’s

reputation in shambles and it was certainly frowned upon to engage with the opposite sex

without a woman’s reputation also being questioned. He addresses this in Sonnet 26 when he

states “And if, returning to the life of love, to make you turn your back on sweet desire you

found some hills or ditches on your way, it was to show how thorny is the path and just how

mountainous and hard the climb by which a man must rise to reach true worth” (Petrarch, page

37). It seems that Petrarch is stating that Laura is turning her back on her desire because she does

not want to go down the ‘thorny path’ which represents the path away from chastity and that he

needs to prove himself to her and reach his true worth, in her eyes. Whilst some may argue the

validity of Laura’s existence, the idea that she did not reciprocate Petrarch’s love would validate

her commitment to chastity and her desire to conform to the moral standard of the era.
 Although many have argued that Laura is just a figment of Petrarch’s imagination, and it

is true that we may never really know if she really exists, through research and new insights I

would conclude that Laura is, in fact, a real person. His use of objectification brings Laura to life

yet keeps her true identity hidden. The exploration of female social roles and the importance of a

woman’s chastity in that era, enables the reader to understand Laura more fully, and validates the

role she had in Petrarch’s life. Petrarch’s statements in the direct response to his critics also

explain the meaning and validity of Laura’s character.

 Works Cited.

Falkeid, Unn. “Petrarch's Laura and the Critics.” Mln, vol. 127, no. 1, 2012.

Feng, Aileen A. Writing Beloveds: Humanist Petrarchism and the Politics of Gender.

University of Toronto Press, 2017.

Petrarca, Francesco, and Mark Musa. The Canzoniere/Rerum Vulgarium Fragmenta.

Indiana University Press, 1999.