Abstract

Leopardi employs the traditional distinction between infinite and indefinite in his works, prompting a question rarely asked in Leopardi studies: what is the role of the true infinite in Leopardi’s oeuvre? My contention is that the true infinite should not be dismissed as having no role in Leopardi’s production simply because it does not exist in reality. Rather, it is the supreme object of desire, the impossible ideal that his texts pursue. This idea is explored through a comparative reading with the work of Fyodor Dostoevsky, whose belief in the true infinite is not in question. Starting from Leopardi’s reflections on the infinite and his ‘theory of pleasure’, it becomes clear that the infinite cannot be expressed or comprehended by human beings, yet they must have some notion of it. This comparison, therefore, helps to reassess the role of the true infinite in Leopardi, which would otherwise remain hidden.