The Double Edge of Irony in Simone Luzzatto's Discorso

This article explores Simone Luzzatto's Discourse on the State of the Jews (Discorso circa il stato de gl'Hebrei, 1638), which was written in an effort to defuse the threat of expulsion that hung over Venetian Jews. Although the treatise seeks to address Venice's political establishment on behalf of the Jews, I argue that Luzzatto intended his text to be read by Venetian Jews themselves as well. Evidence for the two audiences lies in the author's use of irony: Luzzatto employs negative Jewish stereotypes in order to reassure his Christian audience of his impartial treatment of the Jewish community. Read by Jews, these same stereotypes enabled Luzzatto to undercut any idealization of Venice within the Jewish community and to celebrate his community. Through the dual register of irony, Luzzatto's text reflects the means by which Venetian Jews negotiated their identity as a minority community intent on affirming its own identity.