Giacomo Casanova

modernsavage · 2011-04-20T20:42:44+00:00

I've actually read the first two volumes (out of 12) of his memoirs, Histoire de ma vie, and it's pretty interesting stuff, though a bit long winded in my opinion. From what I've read, it seems like it wouldn't be difficult for any person to be entranced by Casanova, considering his amazing life and experiences. He did it all; from travelling around Europe, joining the army, holding court with royalty, acting, writing, speaking several languages and even escaping from the most secure prison in the world at the time - twice! The man was far more than a seducer of women, he was a seducer of life.

huyvanbin · 2011-04-21T04:06:54+00:00

I read his entire memoirs (this abridged version). They are thoroughly fascinating from a historical perspective, as well as very entertaining. If you're looking for a 1200-page book to read, you could do a lot worse than this.

There are a few things that stood out to me about him. His feelings were facts to him. He did not see a separation between how he felt about something and how he should act -- he would do what his feelings told him. The way he describes it, it is as if his actions were a direct consequence of how he felt -- if somebody turned him on, he would engage with them physically. There was no "Well I saw her looking at me but I couldn't decide what I should do, so I felt awkward and went to the other end of the room." He felt, he did.

He was apparently immune to other peoples' judgements. He did things that were thoroughly rotten but he never talks about how he felt bad about doing them. In one case he pulled out his sword in response to a guy passing him on his horse (road rage, I guess), and writes that he was entirely within his rights to kill the guy. He was in prison multiple times (the story of his escape from the Venice prison is one of the best stories I have ever read), but he never thought of himself as a criminal.

In one instance, he describes seeing his naked five year old daughter (he had numerous illegitimate children) and how if someone had not come into the room at that moment, he would have been moved to satisfy himself with her. Just . . . look of disapproval.

In another amusing story, he was a musician in Venice (a bad one by his own admission), and he describes how his band would stir up all kinds of mischief after they were done playing. In one instance, they kidnapped a married couple, put the husband on some island, and each band member had his way with the wife (who apparently was happy to oblige). As he says, only his brother abstained. Then they returned the wife to the husband, him being none the wiser.

True to the quote on the Wiki page, he really liked defrauding people. That's pretty much how he supported himself in life. He would befriend rich nobles and have them pay him in exchange for various mystical services. In one section of the book he plays an elaborate ruse upon a family where he gets them to give him a ton of money and do all sorts of ridiculous things so he could perform some kind of made-up ritual (I forget the purpose of the ritual, but Casanova clearly believed it was made-up). In another episode, he concocts a ritual with a rich woman in her 60s where he has to have sex with her, but he finds it difficult due to her worsening looks, even though he brought a younger woman along with him to get him motivated. Nevertheless, he follows through.

Towards the end, he voices regret that some woman had not made him settle down, but as he says over and over, he makes no apologies for his life, and it is how it is. I probably sound very critical of him in this comment -- I'm not. I just mean to point out the traits which, to me, distinguished him most from an ordinary person and caused him to live the life he lived.

It's clear that Casanova never strove to become who he was. He talks with distaste about people who were not genuine, including his son whom he criticized for not saying directly what was on his mind (his son later impressed him by seducing a girl at school). So I think he would look with distaste at the concept of self-improvement and wanting to, for instance, become a player when one is clearly a sedentary nerd. Where does that leave those of us likely to die as virgins? In the same place, probably, but much better informed about 18th century Europe.

I do wish someone would make a TV series based on his memoirs, though. It would be utterly wonderful.

2011-04-22T22:07:46+00:00

Best Quote:

"For lost courage there is no remedy. It cannot be recovered. The mind succumbs to an apathy against which nothing avails." - Casnova

2011-04-22T22:07:53+00:00

Best Quote:

"For lost courage there is no remedy. It cannot be recovered. The mind succumbs to an apathy against which nothing avails." - Casnova

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Giacomo Casanova

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Title	Giacomo Casanova
Author	T3hJ3hu
Upvotes	10
Comments	6
Date	April 20, 2011 6:43 PM UTC (15 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/seduction
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/seduction/comments/guoqp/giacomo_casanova/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/seduction/giacomo-casanova.1317585 https://theredarchive.com/post/1317585