pThis book is concerned with the idea of character and the methods of representing it in ancient and medieval narrative fiction, and shows how late classical and medieval authors adopted techniques and perspectives from rhetoric, philosophy, and sometimes theology to fashion figures who define not only themselves but also their readers.p pGinsberg first tests Ovid's concept in the Amores and the Metamorphoses against the conventions of classical tradition and shows how, although Ovid's idea of character did not change, his technique grew more subtle and complex as his art matured.p pGinsberg then employs the methods of biblical exegesis to show how medieval characters - Gottfried's Tristan, Dante's Farinata, Chrtien's Yvain - both exist as themselves and point to characters beyond themselves, gaining depth and resonance because we see them in this perspective.p pPerspective is also a distinguishing quality of the maturing of Boccaccio's art. In the early works his characters seem to be