ABSTRACT
This chapter is devoted entirely to a critical reappraisal of Isabetta Coreglia’s second pastoral drama, Erindo il fido. It provides an in-depth analysis of the Erindo, which includes Coreglia’s subtle tackling of certain sociopolitical issues revolving around her native Lucca. The chapter presents the Erindo alongside a female-authored ‘classic’, Andreini’s Mirtilla, in order to assess Coreglia’s handling of her predecessor as both ‘model’ and ‘countermodel’ against which she intends to distinguish herself. From the very beginning, as early as Erindo’s paratext, Coreglia alludes to what will become in the body of the text her own “rifacimento", her reinterpretation of the Narcissus myth. The case for the city-state of Lucca and its women writers is therefore a most fascinating one and certainly worthy of further scholarly research. Aside from Matraini, there are a number of other Lucchese women writers who experimented with at least one genre in their lifetime, all of whom precede Coreglia.
