Un dubbio crudo: antropofagia e umorismo nei Saggi di Montaigne2023

In this paper, I will focus on the role played by humor in Montaigne’s portrait of cannibals. In par. 1, I define the concept of humor to stress the relationship between humor and skepticism. In par. 2, I examine the relationship between humor, habits and imagination, in so far as Montaigne uses his imagination to refute the notion that cannibals’ habits are a sign of inhumanity. In par. 3, I analyze the chapter Of cannibals as a literary dissimulation that enables Montaigne to have the cannibals talk in their own language, treating them as reliable witnesses. Their testimonies give Montaigne the opportunity to show the religious value of the anthropophagic ritual to criticize the barbarism of the Protestant and Catholic civil wars. In par. 4, I focus my attention on Montaigne’s apology for cannibals’ nakedness. I suggest that skepticism can be characterized as a philosophical exercise in which we divest ourselves of our habits.