Franciscus Perspectives Of A Renaissance Paradigm

Paradigms work as windows to help see the way the world is perceived. As a result, they often represent the society of different time periods. The religious beliefs, political thoughts, and cultures of a society can also be influenced by its paradigms. The same goes for literature. The actions and beliefs of a character often hint at what paradigm they belong to. Although it is common to assign characters into literary paradigms, that is not always the case. In My Secret different viewpoints are presented throughout the plot making it difficult to group characters into specific paradigms. As an example, the protagonist, Franciscus, displays characteristics form multiple paradigms throughout the dialogue. His viewpoints towards love, work and religion come from both medieval and

While Franciscus does not fit in the medieval paradigm he also can not be identified as belonging to the Renaissance paradigm. Franciscus wants his work approved by others even though his words, “are not approved by [his] own judgment” (Petrarch 236). This indicates that Petrarch does not conform to the renaissance way of thinking because someone from the Renaissance period would believe in focusing on themselves before worrying about others. According to Augustinus, the main reason why Franciscus continues to obtain knowledge is to receive approval from others. To be categorized into the Renaissance paradigm, Franciscus would be expected to put himself first and applaud his own accomplishments before anyone else. Being part of the of the Renaissance paradigm entails in believing in oneself and the knowledge possessed. Franciscus questions, “why [he] should be proud of reading so many books” (Petrarch 237). This goes against the renaissance idea of taking pride in education and the arts. If Franciscus was to be categorized into the