According to Matte Blanco’s theory, the symmetrical logic denies the difference
between the whole and its parts and determines the absence of
time and space. An axiology based on the category of space requires on
the contrary an asymmetrical thought. The article tries to demonstrate how
both Tasso’s epics, "Liberata" and "Conquistata", containing an asymmetrical
point of view (that of Goffredo, the commander-in-chief) and a symmetrical
one (that of Rinaldo/Riccardo, the hero), affirm and negate the concept
of space. Moreover, the hero can’t recognize the way of thinking by which
the commander considers him (as errant) wrong. Since Homer’s "Iliad" is
the model for this dualism between “the hero and the king” (Jackson), the
text cannot place Goffredo on the right side and Rinaldo on the wrong one.
This means that the ambiguity between the absence and presence of space
cannot be solved: thus, the epic poem isn’t able to achieve an evaluation
system that assures a fully coherent axiology.
