DescriptionMy dissertation narrates how artists and writers in fin de siècle Italy restaged the dilemma of action and contemplation in order to understand the nature and function of humanistic knowledge and the role of the man of letters in the increasingly modern society of the newly unified Italian nation. In Italy, at the turn of the twentieth century, two models prevailed, that of the aesthete, devoted to the cult of Beauty, and that of the engaged intellectual, who supported the revival of nationalism. I argue that the problem of the intellectual's role in society had not only a political dimension, but also an ethical and an aesthetic one, inasmuch as it involved a reflection on the moral utility of art and literature and on the process behind artistic creation. In addition, I show that the two models of conduct, action and contemplation, are not radically opposed, but rather inextricably entwined, as they both represent attempts to negotiate a function for the man of letters in modernity. Thus, my dissertation sheds light on the relationship between late nineteenth century Aestheticism and modern nationalism. The dilemma discussed in this thesis provides insight into similar issues of the present day as we continue to debate the utility of humanistic knowledge in our post-modern society.