The Garden of Eden narrative has been woven, in one form or another in several literary traditions, particularly those of the Western world. The symbolic and socio-cultural significance of the ancient account have continued to inform gender relations, as well as those with the numinous, and/or one’s idealistic aspirations of prowess, sagacity, and overall status of superiority. This is evinced in the literary work of the major periods of the Western Canon. Here we pose the question of whether or not the mythic or mythologized narrative of the Garden of Eden has in the process of centuries undergone any substantial transformation – those ascribable to an evolving myth. To this end a systematic study of a series of later tales is undertaken: a Latin tale, the Boccaccio tale derived from it, and a Boccaccio ‘70 short by Fellini. Of particular interest is the transition from literary forms to time-based visual media. The popularity of film, and now digital media, offers a singular comparativistic look into the dynamics of the Garden myth transposed on screens. To the original title question is added a meta-analytic reflection and the purview of any new moral dimension the innovations brings about. The study involves a targeted examination of aesthetic and ethic elements: the formal strategies, praxis, and dynamics between the protagonists of each tale. The main proposition is intended to re-affirm the substantial immutability of the ancient paradigmatic tale: it appears to have undergone only superficial transformations, which reiterate its universal appeal and significance across time and cultural traditions.

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Cristiano, A., (2025), "The Evolution of the Garden-Myth? Tales from Eden, Boccaccio, and Fellini", HSSCommons: (DOI: )

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1. Quaderni d'italianistica

Original publication: Cristiano, Anthony. "The Evolution of the Garden-Myth? Tales from Eden, Boccaccio, and Fellini." Quaderni d'italianistica 40 (1): 2020. 141-164. DOI: 10.33137/q.i..v40i1.34159. This material has been re-published in an unmodified form on the Canadian HSS Commons with the permission of Iter Canada / Quaderni d'italianistica. Copyright © the author(s). Their work is distributed by Quaderni d'italianistica under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. For details, see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/.