Utopia is a satire that reflects on the absurdities of the world that existed in More's time (economic disparity after land enclosures) and of the absurdities that existed in his fictional world (which from the chapter of slavery and afterwards is a straight up critique of the roman catholic church and political institutions)
That's all you need to know. This whole proving a fictional island is not blessed by god is entirely bunk, and has a Rabelaisian philosophizing ideas the author would have never endorsed.
>authorial intent
It's a fucking satire, ofc it matters
More was a statesmen who primarily wrote non-fiction. He wasn't the master of symbolism, themes, or motifs. He wrote a double sided satire, which in comparison to other satires proved, ahead of its time and promised rather noble reforms (not just in land reform - income distribution, but in the ideas of penal code, education, and counseling kings).
It wasn't an entire fictionalized island without failure. Utopians stress a classical education without bias towards gender. In real life, More's daughter was maybe the most learned lady in her land.
Compare it vs. Voltaire's Candide. One doesn't even try to be subtle, and wishes to be as gross, disgusting, and blatant as possible. With Utopia it's a satire that doesn't seem so obvious at first, but offers a tenable solution - means to remedy. The entire concluding bit of Candide is rehashed skepticism - live the good life. Weak.
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