Jannah Abdelmegid – Dante to Machiavelli at CCNY

How women were portrayed in Boccaccio’s: ‘Decameron’

The way that women are portrayed in media and literature is a longstanding issue that has seen constant changes over time. We see much more representation for women in literature now, and this is thanks to many writers of the past, such as Giovanni Boccaccio, who helped break these stereotypes. Boccaccio was the creator of the text, ‘The Decameron’, created in 1358. It is a book that contains a series of stories played out within a 10 day time frame, 10 stories written each day, all occurring during the Black Plague of 1346. In this series of stories, Boccaccio covered many topics, such as fortune, nature, trickery, violence, and many others. However, one of the most common and talked about themes in ‘The Decameron’ is women and they’re role in society.

In ‘The Decameron’, Boccaccio portrays women as being smart and cunning. In the 1300’s, women were not allowed to have a say in their choices due to the sexist laws and strict gender roles that were forced upon them. Boccaccio, however, showed that women could stand up for themselves in many stories, such as in Day 6 Story 7. In Day 6 Story 7, Madonna Filippa gets caught cheating on her husband, Rinaldo. At the time, there was a law in Prato, Italy that stated that any woman that gets caught cheating will be burned alive. Many of her family and friends were telling Filipa to run away so she doesn’t get killed, but she didn’t believe the law was fair and equal and wanted a chance to stand her ground. She went to her trial and started talking to judge, saying that, “which conditions are wanting to this law, inasmuch as it binds only us poor women, in whom to be liberal is much less reprehensible than it were in men” (Day 6 Story 7, line 14). Through the use of her voice, Filipa was able to save herself from death and explain to the judges at the trial how it was unfair that the law targeted women and not men. She states how they could “ask my husband if I ever gainsaid him, but did not rather accord him, when and so often as he craved it, complete enjoyment of myself”(Day 6 Story 7, line 15), and how she had much more love to give to others. This was also seen in Day 7 Story 3, when Madonna Agnesa also cheats on her husband with Rinaldo. In this story, Rinaldo falls in love with his neighbor, Agnesa, and tries to get closer by asking her to consider having him as the godfather. Agnesa isn’t interested by efforts, and Rinaldo becomes a friar. Rinaldo, like the most friars during that time, becomes corrupt, and persuades Agnesa into having an affair. She agrees, but almost gets caught by her husband in which she lies too and says that her son “was taken but now, all of a sudden, with a fainting fit, so that I thought he was dead: and what to do or say I knew not, had not Fra Rinaldo, our sponsor, come just in the nick of time” (Day 7 Story 3, line 30). Based on these two stories, it’s made clear that Boccaccio believes women, like men, can be cunning and use their wit to defend themselves.

Master of Griselda Legend (1490-1500), The National Gallery London

Throughout this text, it’s clear that Boccaccio believed women should follow what their heart desired, even if it involved cheating on their partners. In many stories, such as the ones that were previously discussed, many of the women ended up having an affair and cheating on their husband because “Boccaccio demonstrates that women are significantly more sexual than men” (Kulshrestha, page 1). For example, in Day 4 Story 9, Guillaume de Roussillon has a wife that he found was cheating with his best friend, Guillaume. Guillaume de Roussillon found out about the affair between them, and ended up killing Guillaume and serving his heart to his wife. However, when he informed the wife about eating the heart, she stated “but God forbid that fare of such high excellence as the heart of a knight so true and courteous as Sieur Guillaume de Cabestaing be followed by aught else” (Day 4 Story 9, line 23), saying that since this was the best thing god has given her to eat, she will ever eat again. She then started “stepping back to a window that was behind her, without a moment’s hesitation let herself drop backwards therefrom” (Day 4 Story 9, line 24). This is a good example of women giving into nature because although his wife cheated, she gave into nature, and ended up dying for the person she loved more, ultimately cheating and leaving Guillaume. By including this story in ‘The Decameron’, Boccaccio shows women should give into their needs, without the consideration of others.

Lastly, Boccaccio also portrays women as people who are resilient and patient. In Day 10 Story 10, Gualtieri becomes the Marquis of Saluzzo and needs to marry to provide the family with an heir; he ends up falling in love with a poor girl of low-nobility, Griselda, and buys her marriage through her father. After marrying Griselda, he then wants to test her goodness and purity, through a series of cruel trials. Through cruel acts such as taking away her kids and telling her that they were dead, it became clear to Gualtieri that Griselda was a very resilient and patient woman, and that no matter what obstacle he put her with, she always fought through and stayed by his side. Gualtieri then divorces her and marries another woman to “to put her patience to the proof by prolonged and intolerable hard usage” (Day 10 Story 10, line 27), even still Griselda held strong. He remarries her, and proves her strength in the end by forgiving him for these tests that she had to go through. Boccaccio “demonstrates that women tolerate more adversity than men do, this increased tolerance for adversity may stem from a basic lack of options” (Kulshrestha, page 1). This is clearly shown in Day 10 story 10, as Griselda stayed without being able to do much, and just giving into whatever Gualtieri said.

As seen throughout ‘The Decameron’, it’s clear that Boccaccio shined women in a high light. He portrays them as being resilient, patient, lustful, smart and cunning. He gave a different perspective on the way women were seen, and gave readers an idea as to how he portrayed women.

Decameron web. Decameron Web | Texts. (n.d.). Retrieved December 20, 2021, from https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?myID=nov0101&lang=eng.

Kulshrestha, S., 2021. Giovanni Boccaccio’s “The Decameron” and the Roles of Men and Women. [online] Inquiries Journal. Available at: <http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/344/giovanni-boccaccios-the-decameron-and-the-roles-of-men-and-women> [Accessed 20 December 2021].

Morals in ‘The Prince’

“The Prince” is a text by Machiavelli, an Italian poet, philosopher and diplomat. This text has a common theme of morality amongst the chapters. It often discusses the role that the prince must take on, along with what he should and shouldn’t be doing. Machiavelli spoke a lot about the dichotomy between sticking to one’s morals and doing what helps them stay in power; he states that the prince should be doing things to his own accord, whether it’s good or bad. For example, in Chapter 15, Machiavelli states that “it is necessary for a prince wishing to hold his own to know how to do wrong, and to make use of it or not according to necessity.” He says this because he believes that the prince should take all precautions when it comes to gaining and maintaining any power. Machiavelli also discusses how the prince needs to have a balance between acting like a man and acting like a beast. He states that there are two methods for this, “the first method is proper to men, the second to beasts; but because the first is frequently not sufficient, it is necessary to have recourse to the second. Therefore it is necessary for a prince to understand how to avail himself of the beast and the man”. In chapter 18, he explains that this is necessary because if men were good, then there would be no need to consider being bad, however,“because they are bad, and will not keep faith with you, you too are not bound to observe it with them”.

Analysis of Angela da Foligno’s Memorial

While reading Angela da Foligno’s Memorial, I noticed a common theme of pain being brought up throughout the thirty steps of cleansing oneself of a sin. As each step continued on, Angela seemed to deal with more and more pain; most steps being filled with shame, bitterness, and no love. As each step increased, so did the pain. For example, in step seven, she reflected alongside the cross and pondered upon the reasons Christ died, and how he died for her sins. As she kept this journey going and reached step nine, her husband, mother, and child died. She was aware of their deaths, and happened to accept it as she knew they were “a great hindrance” to her and her cleansing process. Although she felt “deep consolation following their deaths” and all of the other painful events she had to go through, she kept pushing through and completed all thirty steps of cleansing.

Angela of Foligno - Medieval Histories — Editiones Collegii S. Bonaventurae 1985

Generosity in the Decameron

The Decameron is a series of stories written by Giovanni Boccaccio. These stories are told by three men and seven women in the year 1348, during the rise of the Black Plague. In these texts, there are many mentions of themes, morals, and lessons learned throughout. One of the many themes that often came up in his writing is generosity. This theme is greatly shown throughout Day 10, Novel 3 and Day 1, Novel 1.

In Day 10, Novel 3, which is narrated by Filostrato. In this story, Nathan, a wealthy and generous man, has a palace built so he can provide help and places to stay for any travelers that may need assistance on the way. He is met with Mithridanes, a man who is jealous of Nathan’s very giving nature, and is set to be more generous than Nathan, as he sees it as a competition. He creates a plan to kill Nathan, and ends up meeting Nathan himself without realizing. Once Mithridanes realizes the faults in his plan to kill Nathan after meeting him, he instantly backs down. Nathans suggests switching bodies with Mithridanes, as he still believed in giving Mithridanes what he needed. Ultimately, this gives Nathan a stronger sense of accomplishment with his generosity. Day 10, Novel 3 states, “Nathan for some days honourably entreated Mithridanes; Mithridanes, being minded to return home with his company, took his leave of Nathan ”. Nathan fulfills his promise, always giving people what they want and need, and Mithridanes becomes the person who is known for giving, additionally learning how to be generous.

Another example of generosity is in Day 1, Novel 1, as told by Panfilo. In this story the main character, Master Ciappelletto, is known as the towns’ ‘fool’. He goes against many rules, he creates fake documents and testimonies, never goes to church, and often uses profanities. Due to this, many people were not fond of him, his actions or personality. He ended up moving to continue his practice, but became ill when staying at the house of two Florentine lenders. This became an issue for them, as if Master Ciappelletto did die, no one would bury him, but instead leave them with the body. Ciappelletto, however, was listening in on this conversation between the two lenders, and came up with a plan: meeting a friar to give his confessions before he died. The friar goes to see Ciappelletto, but ends up getting tricked, as Ciappelletto he ends up lying about his confessions and creating lies. The friar ended up believing him, and Ciappelletto died that same day. Since he lied to the friar, he ended up getting buried at the friar’s convent, as he believed Ciappelletto was holy enough. Day 1 Story in the Decameron states, “The holy man was mightily delighted with these words, which seemed to him to betoken a soul in a state of grace”. At the end of this story, the narrator explains how this is an example of generosity on friar’s end, as he still gave Ciappelletto his rights, despite the opinion of others. He states that this story was a mix of good and evil in the main character, Master Ciappelletto, that had “an end with generosity glorified for its own sake and for God” (The Frame Characters of the Decameron: A Progression of Virtues).

Annotations:

Decameron web. Decameron Web | Texts. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2021, from https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?myID=nov0101&lang=eng.

Decameron web. Decameron Web | Texts. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2021, from https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?myID=nov1003&lang=eng.

Joan M. Ferrante, The Frame Characters of the “Decameron”: A Progression of Virtues (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2021, from https://www-jstor-org.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/stable/44940122?seq=14#metadata_info_tab_contents.

Canzoniere 61: Bound

Italian (Venetian) School; Petrarch and Laura de Noves; The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/petrarch-and-laura-de-noves-141634

Poem 61 has an evident theme of love, especially within its first moments where Petrarca describes the emotions of when he fell in love with Laura. He expresses this theme of love throughout this poem and many others, through his uses of detailed imagery and hyperboles.

In the first stanza of this poem, Petrarca regards the very instant and place where he first met Laura as a blessing. He explains how he felt ‘bound’ to love after he laid eyes on her ‘two lovely eyes’. This same theme of being ‘bound’ to Laura’s love is evident throughout many of his poems, not just this one. He then continues to describe this love as his ‘first sweet agony’, and explains how he is now tied to this love.

In the second stanza, he uses metaphors to compare this feeling of love to being pierced through the heart with a bow, which left wounds so deep he feared they would “reach the bottom of his heart. By using this hyperbole, he gets the reader to understand his feelings of love, and how he fell so deep in love that it caused agony and pain, and ended up hurting his heart, and portrays the struggles he had to go through when it came to loving Laura. Petrarca also mentions many Roman gods throughout his poetry to get his points across. In this particular poem, he alludes to Cupid through the mention of bows and arrows to describe his love.

In the next stanza, Petrarca discusses all of his poetry, and the main catalyst for writing them. He states that all of his poetry was made to be a call out for Laura, and a way to express his love for her, and the feelings that came with it. He also talks about how this poetry was filled with ‘all the sighs, and tears, and the desire’ that came with loving her. By stating this, Petrarca gives the reader a good sense of what most of his poetry is about, and the feelings and emotions they can find within it. It also shows how he deeply cares for Laura to the point where he has to cry out her name and shed tears.

In the last and final stanza of this poem, Petrarca talks about how all of this paper he uses to write his poetry is blessed with Laura’s grace, as she is the topic for the poetry he writes about her. Petrarca also states how every thought he has only relates to Laura, and is not shared with anyone else.

How Women Were Portrayed In Dante’s Inferno

Inferno, a poem written by Dante Alighieri, was one of the most revolutionary works of literature of it’s time for various reasons, such as it’s inclusion of women in its story. Dante mentions characters such as Beatrice, St. Lucia, and Francesca. In Inferno, Beatrice was a woman in which Dante wrote most of his poetry and texts about. She was described as a beautiful lady who was a ‘true praise of god’ (Canto 2, line 103), a lady whose eyes were ‘shining brighter than the morning star’ (Canto 2, line 55-56) and was a ‘lady of power’ (Canto 2, line 76). St. Lucia, was a ‘guardian angel’ for Dante, as she was sent from Beatrice to warn Virgil to aid Dante in his travels. Lines 97-100 of Canto 2 state, “ She called Lucia in her request and said:– Now your faithful one has need of you, and I put him in your hands–”. Virgil is sent to help Dante as he later faces the gates of hell, and helps Dante overcome his fear of being a mortal entering hell. Francesca, one of the rulers of Ravenna, was sent to hell after her husband killed her for having an affair with her brother, Paolo. Despite this incident, Dante still describes Francesca “as a beautiful, gentle seductress” (Stuber, 2018). Dante describes many of the women in this text to be beautiful and full of power, as well as being to seduce others.

While analyzing the many cantos of Inferno, it’s clear that no matter the story, Dante always made sure that the stories of these women were heard and conveyed them with utmost importance. This was revolutionary for Dante’s time, because women often were excluded and put on the sidelines in literature, therefore the inclusion of women was a vital step in the enhancement of literature at the time. His inclusion of women was also revolutionary because this created a path for many poets in the future to also include women in their poetry. Along with that, throughout the text Inferno, women tend to have very important roles to the story. For example, Beatrice, being the love of Dante’s life, is the inspiration behind much of his poetry. She is shown as a powerful character in both La Vita Nuova and The Divine Comedy, as he carries her legacy after her death. She is also consistently brought up in these texts, giving the reader a clear remembrance of her and her importance to his writing. Saint Lucia, being Dante’s guardian angel, has another important role in The Divine Comedy. She helps guide Dante through the levels of hell by summoning Virgil to help Dante get over his cowardness.

Stuber, S. (2018, June 4). Reading Dante as a feminist. The Stanford Daily. Retrieved September 25, 2021, from https://www.stanforddaily.com/2018/06/04/reading-dante-as-a-feminist/.

Alighieri, Dante, Durling, Robert, Martinez, Robert, Turner, Robert. (1996, February 29). The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri: Inferno. Oxford University Press USA. Retrieved September 26, 2021, from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ccny-ebooks/reader.action?docID=693941

Alighieri, D., Moser, B., & Alighieri, D. (1980). The divine comedy of Dante Alighieri ; Inferno. New York: Bantam Books.

Virgil’s Character Analysis (Canto I &II)

Dante first meets Virgil when lost in “a dark wood” (Canto 1, lines 1-2), and is then surrounded by leopard and a ‘she-wolf’. Dante begins to feel hopeless, until he sees the figure of a man in the forest and cries out “Miserere on me, whatever you may be, whether shade or true man!” (Canto 1, lines 64-66). From there, Virgil declares himself as Dante’s leader, saying “Thus for your good I think and judge that you shall follow me, and I shall be your guide…” (Canto 1, lines 112-113) and promises that he will lead Dante out of the woods so that he may “see the gate of Saint Peter” (Canto 1, lines 133-134). Dante seems to trust Virgili in being able to guide him through the mountain and follow him. As Dante and Virgil are near the entrance of Hell, Dante doubts himself and wonders if he truly is mighty enough to be included in the group. He states, “But I, why come there? Or who grants it? I am not Aeneas, I am not Paul; neither I nor others believe me worthy of that” (Canto 2, lines 31-33). Virgil then informed Dante that he was sent by Beatrice, who said “Now go, with your ornamented speech and whatever else is needed for his escape help him so that I may be consoled” (Canto 2, lines 67-69). Upon hearing about Beatrice, along with Lucia and the Virgin Mary, Dante continues to follow Virgil.

-Megan McMahon Owens, Jannah Abdelmegid, Jennifer Marte

Author: Jannah Abdelmegid