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Women in the Decameron: 6.7 and 10.10:

‘The Story of Griselda, Part 1: Marriage” commission by the noble Spannocchi family in 1494 (The story of Griselda, part I: Marriage. The National Gallery. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2021, from https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/master-of-the-story-of-griselda-the-story-of-griselda-part-i-marriage.)

The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio is a collection of stories told by 10 young people, comprised of 7 women and 3 men, told over the course of 10 days after fleeing to the Italian countryside to escape the Black Plague. While it might not seem like it on the surface, each story has a greater message and is often a commentary of issues that plagued Italy at the time, such as corruption in the church and social hierarchy. What makes The Decameron so unique is the fact that many of it’s stories focus on the theme of women, particularly the role of women in society, which is something that not many writers of Boccaccio’s era were daring enough to cover.

In Day 6, story 7, Filostrato tells the story of a woman speaking out against the strict laws that often targeted women more strictly than men. In the city of Prato, the law states that a woman will be put to death and burned if she’s caught committing adultery whether it’s with someone she loves or a complete stranger. This story focuses on Madonna Filippa, who is caught cheating on her husband, Rinaldo de’ Pugliesi, with Lazzarino de’ Guazzagliotri. Instead of “falling upon them and killing them on the spot”, Rinaldo resorted to charging Filippa with adultery to have her killed. In an act of courage, Filippa showed up on the day she was summoned despite her family and friends’ attempts to dissuade her, as she would rather speak the truth and face the possible consequences than flee and live in exile. When questioned about whether or not she’s guilty of her crime, she simply responds with “True it is, Sir, that Rinaldo is my husband, and that last night he found me in the arms of Lazzarino, in whose arms for the whole-hearted love that I bear him I have ofttimes lain; nor shall I ever deny it…” She then elaborates on her admission, stating that this law is unjust as it was put in place without the consent of women, despite the fact that it only impacts women who cheat and not men. In her closing statement, she defends her actions by stating that she has “surplus” love to give, and that she deemed it better to show that love to a man who loves her as well than to “cast it to the dogs”. The crowd which has gathered around to see the trial ends up siding with Filippa, and doesn’t leave until the Podesta amends the law so that women who love the person they’re cheating with aren’t punished. In this story, Boccaccio essentially shows that women should be allowed to love whoever they please, even if it involves adultery. In my opinion, Boccaccio also shows how powerful just one woman can be, as Filippa was able to single handedly avoid persecution through her testimony, but was also able to get the law changed by getting the townspeople on her side.  

On the other hand, we have the story of Griselda on day 10, the 10th story. This story focuses on the relationship between Griselda, a woman of low nobility, and Gualtieri, the Marquis of Saluzzo. Gualtieri takes Griselda as his wife despite the fact that she’s not royalty or rich, and they have an extravagant wedding. However, Gualtieri suddenly wants to test his wife’s loyalty and puts her through multiple trials. He sends away Griselda’s children (a daughter and a son), making her believe the children are dead when they’re actually in the care of someone else. He also tells her that he’s taking another woman as his wife, and again, she puts up with this behavior and encourages him to be happy with his new wife. Gualtieri then reveals that he was testing Griselda’s loyalty all along, and the story ends with them remaining happily married together. The story closes with the line “Who but Griselda had been able, with a countenance not only tearless, but cheerful, to endure the hard and unheard-of trials to which Gualtieri subjected her?”, which many interpret to mean that women are able to deal with hardship better than men.

While many commend Boccaccio for his inclusion of women, some believe that his representation of women is actually harmful. In Gender, Power, and the Female Reader, Mihoko Suzuki argues that Griselda’s story doesn’t have the message of how strong women can be, but is actually about Gualtieri’s dominance over his wife. Suzuki contrasts Griselda with other women that we’ve seen in The Decameron; while women in previous stories have been shown to disobey men (either through adultery or by outwitting them), Griselda is the complete opposite. As Suzuki puts it “And that is precisely the point: Dineo all but erases her sexuality and makes her an embodied fantasy of a constant and obedient wife…” (page 234). She then elaborates by stating that because Griselda’s personality has been watered down to that of an obedient wife and nothing else, Boccaccio is playing into the fantasy that men should have “total control and power” over their wives. 

Sources:

  1. The story of Griselda, part I: Marriage. The National Gallery. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2021, from https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/master-of-the-story-of-griselda-the-story-of-griselda-part-i-marriage.
  2. Decameron web. Decameron Web | Texts. (n.d.). Day 6, story 7. Retrieved November 14, 2021, from https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?myID=nov0607&lang=eng.
  3. Decameron web. Decameron Web | Texts. (n.d.). Day 10, Story 10. Retrieved November 14, 2021, from https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?myID=nov1010&lang=eng.
  4. Suzuki, M. (1993). Gender, Power, and the Female Reader: Boccaccio’s “Decameron” and Marguerite de Navarre’s “Heptameron”. Jstor. Retrieved November 14, 2021, from https://www.jstor.org/stable/40246888.

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. 

Salvatore Postiglione (1861–1906)

Murder in the Decameron: 4.1 & 4.9

Human Heart -Die Frau als Hausarztin 1911

In “The Decameron”, Giovanni Boccaccio writes many tales related to topics that reflect his views. I noticed that death is a recurring theme. He tells us stories involving murder. Various characters murder each other in gruesome and brutal ways. These murders are motivated by either love or social class.

On Day 4, Story 1, Boccaccio tells the story of Tancredi and Ghismunda, a father and daughter. Tancredi was the prince of Salerno. He marries his daughter Ghismunda off to the Duke of Capua. Unfortunately, the duke later died, leaving Ghismunda without a husband. She returns to her father’s house. When Ghismunda returns she has intentions to find herself a husband. Tancredi has no intentions of remarrying her. Ghismunda falls in love with Guiscardo, her father’s valet, and they secretly see each other. One day Tancredi falls asleep in her room and catches Ghismunda and the valet. That night Tancredi tells the guards to capture Guiscardo. He confronts him about his relations with his daughter. Tancredi couldn’t believe that Ghuismunda would sleep with someone that’s in a lower class. Ghismunda said she doesn’t regret loving Guiscardo. She becomes enraged at her father for being upset that she was with someone of a lower social class. She tells her father that if Guiscardo is punished so should she. He tells his guards to strangle Guiscardo and remove his heart. He sends the heart to Ghismunda in a golden goblet. After seeing the heart Guismunda kills herself by pouring poison into the heart and drinking it. This is one example of the brutal murders shown in “The Decameron”. Tancredi acts as if killing another person is nothing. He orders people to strangle him and take his heart. The taking of the heart gives this murder a gruesome feel. Sending the heart to his daughter made Trancedi seem more violent and heartless. Guiscardo’s life was regarded as less than, so Tancredi murdered him as if he were less than. He had no remorse for taking the life of somebody his daughter loved. This demonstrates Boccaccio’s creativity. He used the taking of the heart as a symbol of the love that the characters have for each other.

On day 4, story 9, Boccacio tells of two knights Guillaume de Roussillon and Guillaume de Cabestanh. These knights were friends. Cabestanh falls in love with Roussillion’s wife. Roussilion finds out and kills Cabestanh. He cuts his heart out. Roussillon orders it to be cooked and served to his wife. He tells her what she ate after she finishes. After she throws herself out the window. This shows a murder motivated by betrayal. Roussillon’s wife and friend fell in love with each other so he punished them together. The nature of the love the wife and Cabestanh had was stranger than staying loyal to the title of friend and wife. Cutting out the heart was a common theme in both stories.

Boccacio uses these stories to show the issues of class and the nature of love. These murders emphasize these topics in extreme ways. It makes the reader pay attention to the reason behind this violence. In these stories, women are represented “as the secondary victims of violence unleashed by sexual love” according to “A Rhetoric of the Decameron” by Marilyn Migiel.

Citations:

Migiel, Marilyn. “Domestic Violence in the Decameron.” A Rhetoric of the Decameron. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2016. 147–159. Web.

Boccaccio, Giovanni, 1313-1375. The Decameron. London :New York : Penguin Books, 1995.

Blog Post 3: Physical Violence in the Decameron

1427-1430 Image of Attack made by Gerbino and his men to the ship where his lover was to be married off.

In Giovanni Boccaccio’s, “The Decameron” there were a wide range of meaningful themes, messages and topics that are very impactful.  The one theme I was most intrigued by was the use of physical violence throughout the stories. Physical violence was a tactic that was greatly used by many characters involved in the stories. 

In Day 4, story 4 the physical violence is associated with men’s natural sexual rivalry for women.  The story is told by Elissia, in the story Gerbino the grandson of King William II of Sicily  who is not only a famous warrior but a man of chivalry falls for the daughter of the King of Tunis. They fall in love without ever being in each other’s sight due to this Gerbino gets a friend to be his messenger that will help the two exchange love letters and gifts back and forth from the lovers traveling from Sicily to Tunis. The long distance love remains until the King of Tunis makes the announcement that he will be marrying her off to the King of Granada.  He is aware of the love affair the two lovers are currently having of which he does not approve of causing him to reach out to King William. He is promised that Gerbino will not interfere, but of course Gerbino has other plans. He takes two ships full of men and attends to his lover’s bridal entourage with intentions of capturing her. Unluckily, his unwanted presence and interruption leads the Tunisians to kill Gerbino’s lover right before his eyes.  As a result Gerbino breaks out into ultimate physical violence and rage being the warrior he is, he and his men begin to fight and kill.  Day 4, story 4 states, “Just like a starving lion who falls upon a herd of bullocks, slashing this one with his teeth and that one with his claws, intent on satisfying his anger rather than his hunger, so Gerbino, sword in hand, cut down one Saracen and then another, slaughtering a host of them without mercy.”  Many of Gerbino’s men died and so did many of the others, as a result Gerbino’s grandfather had Gerbino beheaded before his eyes.

Another instance in which Physical violence is presented is Day 2, story 1 which is illustrated by Neifile. In the story Arrigo a poor laborer in Trevisa who is believed to be a saint by the people dies, after his death a variety of miraculous things occur which was a way of confirming this belief to the people. Many want to come into contact with his body to either cure an illness or win favor with him. Three entertainers from Florence , Stecchi, Martellino and Marchese happen to show up in town during this exciting time. They wanted to come into contact with Arrigo’s body for themselves but the crowd was way too big to get by so they came up with a scheme. Martellino pretends to be  a paralyzed man who needs the healing powers of the saint, it works and they get through the crowds. The men surrounding Arrigo’s body lift Martellino up and lay him across the corpse, he then pretends as if he has been cured. Unfortunately  there’s another Florentine in the crowd who recognizes him and reveals the sacrilege to the crowd, after this the mood automatically alters. The crowd becomes angry and starters to beat him up they are even on the verge of hanging him for mocking the saint. Day 2 story 1 states, “they grabbed him {Martinello} and dragged him down from where he was standing.  Holding him by the hair, they tore all the clothes off his back and started punching and kicking him.  … Although he did his best to defend himself, it was no use, and the crowd on top of him just kept getting bigger and bigger.” Marchese and Stecchi  get the watchman to keep the crowd from killing Martellino, they claim that Martellino had “cut their purses” so that the watchman will save his life by taking him into custody. Other men claim he did the same to them, and were told to say when and where the events occurred but they all chose days he was not in the city. The magistrate has a grudge against Florentines and is tempted to hang Martellino just for fun. While Marchese and Stecchi go back to their lodgings and ask the landlord to help them, who sends them to Sandro, a Florentine living in Trevisa. Sandro takes them to the prince. The prince is amused by the situation but he does go to the magistrate and saves Martellino. The three men then safely return to Florence in the new set of clothing given to them by the prince.

Furthermore, the stories are similar in such that they both show how the characters reckless actions lead to very negative outcomes. It can clearly be concluded that physical violence played a great role in life at the time. Seemingly Boccaccio’s view of physical violence remains somewhat unclear but he does present it greatly throughout the stories which reflects the gruesome role in how physical violence was the main way to discipline and approach issues. 

Citations:

Decameron Web | Texts. (n.d.). The Decameron: Day 4, Story 4

https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?myID=nov0404&lang=eng

Decameron Web | Texts. (n.d.). The Decameron: Day 2, Story 1. 

https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?myID=nov0201&lang=eng

Deceit in the Decameron 10.3 and 10.10

Throughout the Decameron, Bocaccio shares several tales that are designed to teach the audience moral lessons. The parables are told by the characters in the book for the duration of ten days, and each one is cleverly laden with social commentary. Though readers may pick apart several themes from the collection of stories, the one that was consistently established within the tenth day, especially, is deception. In stories 3 and 10, we are introduced to good-hearted protagonists who are double-crossed by manipulative people looking to gain something. But similar to standard fairytales, they end off on a happy note, reinforcing the idea that immorality does not prevail.

Image may contain Art Painting Human and Person
John William Waterhouse’s The Decameron. Depicts the young storytellers from The Decameron.
Source: Columbia University  

The main characters of story three are named Nathan and Mitridanes. Both are equally as wealthy, but only one of them has a heart of gold. Nathan has a notable reputation for being a generous person because he extends his riches to commoners passing by his palace. Mitridanes, on the other hand, only cares about renown, which is why his growing jealously for Nathan points him in the direction of murder. Mitridanes devises a plan to disguise himself as someone in need of Nathan’s services, but his plan falls through when he accidentally reveals his intentions to Nathan. Although Mitridanes was completely unaware that he was revealing his plan to Nathan, it’s interesting to think about why he was so motivated to tell a random person such a deep secret. It turns out, that he, too, is enthralled by Nathan’s kindness. When Mitridanes has a conversation with Nathan, who poses as a servant, he is able to witness how good of a person Nathan actually is. He goes from wanting to murder a then-stranger, to feeling shameful for even thinking about killing his friend. In typical Nathan fashion, he forgives Mitridanes and allows him to stay at the palace for several days. However, Mitridanes decides to leave upon realizing that “‘twas not possible to surpass him [Nathan] in liberality” (Tenth Day, Novel 3).

On the tenth day, we meet The Marquis of Saluzzo, Gualtieri, who chooses a woman named Griselda to be his wife. Griselda is described to be the complete opposite of Gualtieri, not only in social status, but in character too. She is someone who is well-mannered and very compliant, while he subjects her to the horrors of a man with a fragile ego. He makes her believe that both of their children are dead and that he is leaving her for another woman – all in the name of testing her patience and humility. Griselda almost never flinches at his requests, but there is one moment where she lets Gualtieri know what she’s feeling. She pleads that he treats his “new wife” with respect and that he “spare her those tribulations” which he once inflicted on her (Tenth Day, Novel 10). This serves as the turning point in the story, where Gualtieri reveals his true intentions to Griselda, and they vow to restore their relationship. Many people were not pleased with this ending, calling it an “extreme example of female submission” (The Griselda Tale and Women in The Decameron). However, things are left off in this note because as damning as this experience was for her, Griselda does restore her wifely status and Gualtieri’s dirty truths come to the light.

Work Cited

“Decameron Web.” Decameron Web: Day 10, Story 3 https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?myID=nov1003&lang=eng 

“Decameron Web.” Decameron Web: Day 10, Story 10 https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?myID=nov1010&lang=eng

Allen, Shirley S. “The Griselda Tale and the Portrayal of Women in The Decameron” https://www.proquest.com/docview/1290878378?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true#

Women Outwitting Men in the Decameron; 3.9 & 2.5

The Decameron is a collection of stories or novellas by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio. In this series of stories, women outwitting men is something that happened pretty often. Two of these instances happen to fall on Day 3 story 9, and Day 2 story 5. 

    On the second day, fifth story, Fiammetta is the storyteller, and the protagonist is Andreuccio. The story starts off with him going down to Naples with his merchant friends to buy horses. Andreuccio takes 500 gold florins with him, but despite the horses being cheap, he failed to strike a bargain with anyone. He kept opening his purse for everyone to see, and this was his way of saying that he meant business when it came to buying one of these horses. Consequently, the horse traders were not the only ones to see the purse because a young and beautiful Sicilian woman named Madonna Fiordaliso also sees it, and decides that she wants to take it from him. She has an older woman with her that recognizes Andreuccio, and the older woman states that she knows everything about him. Fiordaliso uses all the information that her companion stated to devise a devious plan, inviting him into her home, and tricking him into believing that they are siblings. When he goes to the restroom, he falls into her trap, quite literally because he steps onto a loose plank and drops into an alley. He is left high and dry, while his wallet stayed in her home.

          On the third day, ninth story, Neifile is the storyteller, and the protagonist is Gillette. She is the daughter of a doctor that Count Roussillon has on standby. She is very infatuated and crazy in love with his son, Bertrand. Unfortunately, both of their fathers pass away, and Bertrand moves away to Paris, while she stays home. She is very distraught by this but somehow, fortune is on her side when the king of France has a chest tumor. She used this as a bargaining tool to finally reunite with Bertrand. Luckily for both Gillette and the King, she watched and learned her father’s medical skills. By successfully curing him in one week, she was able to get married to whomever she chose, which unsurprisingly was Bertrand. However, he wasn’t too happy with this because she was a working-class woman and not of a higher class. Ultimately, the only way for him to live with her is if she were to have his kids and a ring from him (which he thinks would never happen.) Since he is actually cheating on her with someone, she tricks him into giving her his ring & sleeping with her by pretending to be her. 

          All things considered, Boccaccio seemed to have been feminist, as seen by a lot of these stories. He tends to showcase women as coming out on top in most predicaments that they’re in, or doing things that at that time were probably frowned upon (like Fiordaliso taking Andreuccio’s wallet). He also showcases these women as very loyal, in these stories, enduring things that many of us would have most likely walked away from. These two stories differ in this aspect because 2.5 shows a woman outwitting a man negatively, to get his wallet, while 3.9 shows a woman outwitting a man to get a positive outcome. As Monica Donaggio stated in Implications of Gender Reversal Disguise, “The idea of “putting oneself to the test/mettersi alla prova” is one of the main narrative situations in the Decameron. The character is able to use his or her disguise to accomplish something specific, but, as Donaggio carefully notes, when this is done, the character is able to return to his or her previous identity (which hasn’t ever really been forgotten).“ In these stories Boccaccio had these women go through great lengths and detailed plans to get what they want from these men, masking their true intentions.

Citation;

  • (L.G.) Donaggio, Monica. “Il Travestimento nel Decameron,” Studi sul Decameron. Firenze: Le Lettere, 1988.

Blog Post 3: Disguises and Their Effect on Women

Illustration from the Decameron, Day 2 (Sicurano pleading to the Sultan)
Miniature from The Decameron by Master Jean Mansel (1430-1450) and copyist Guillebert de Mets, Parigi, Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, 5070.

Throughout The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio, I noticed several recurring themes, but in particular, the topic of disguises caught my attention. Characters in the story often took part in changing their identity in order to experiment or get things that they longed for.

One example of this in the male perspective is Day 3, Story 2. In this story, recounted by Pampinea, King Agilulf finds out that the groom impersonates him in order to fall in love with his wife, and she knew nothing of this. Because of this, the King goes on a mission to uncover who the man is, but the groom cleverly gets away with it for some time. However, the King learns of the groom’s scheme. On line 24 of Day 3, Story 2, Pampinea states, “So, angered and incensed beyond measure by the trick which, he saw, had been played upon him, he resumed his mantle and quitted the room with the intention of privily detecting the offender, deeming that he must belong to the palace, and that, whoever he might be, he could not have quitted it. [ 024 ].” The King then warns the townspeople of the groom’s trick in order to save his and his wife’s reputation.

An example of this in the female perspective is Day 2, Story 9. In this story, narrated by Filomena, a merchant name Bernabò places a bet with Ambroguiolo on his wife’s loyalty to their relationship. Ambroguiolo wins and Bernabò seeks revenge on Zinevra, his wife, for committing adultery by demanding a servant to kill her, though Ambroguiolo was in fact deceiving him. As a result, she dresses as a man in order to convince the servant to not do so and to lie to Bernabò. She later finds out that Ambroguiolo was the one who made this lie against her and bring him and her husband to the sultan. She pleads for forgiveness from her husband and Ambroguiolo is murdered for lying. Filomena (Day 2, Story 9) states, “…Sicurano, weeping, threw herself on her knees at his feet, and discarding the tones, as she would fain have divested herself of the outward semblance, of a man, said: [068]. ‘ My lord, that forlorn, hapless Zinevra am I, falsely and foully slandered by this traitor Ambrogiuolo, and by my cruel and unjust husband delivered over to his servant to slaughter and cast out as a prey to the wolves; for which cause I have now for six years been a wanderer on the face of the earth in the guise of a man.’ [069].”

Overall, these two stories are similar in the sense that the two individuals were successful in using the power of disguise in order to get something that they need/want. Nevertheless, it is clear what role men and women each play in society. In this instance, Zinerva had to disguise herself as a man in order to save herself from being murdered, while the groom disguised himself as another man for his own sexual pleasure. The Decameron web states, “When a male dresses as a female, he is ‘lowering’ his status; when a female dresses as a male, she is ‘raising’ hers.” (Decameron Web | Themes & Motifs, n.d.). Clearly, being a woman during this time was looked down upon and were submissive to men, and Boccacio may or may not have agreed with this. He wrote several stories showing women having to disguise themselves as males in order to “save themselves” from doing something that they did not want to do. Evidently, he understood the hardships that women faced, but it’s difficult to state his overall position.

Citations:

  • Donaggio, Monica. “Il Travestimento nel Decameron.” Studi sul Decameron. Firenze: Le Lettere, 1988.
  • Decameron Web | Texts. (n.d.). The Decameron: Day 3, Story 2. https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?lang=eng&myID=nov0302&expand=day03
  • Decameron Web | Texts. (n.d.-b). The Decameron: Day 2, Story 9. https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?lang=eng&myID=nov0209&expand=day02

Canzoniere 134: Hurt

Throughout Il Canzoniere 134 Petrarca uses tone and oxymorons, which makes his overwhelming sentiments caused by Laura evident. With the use of different figures of speech he creates a sense of sadness incorporated with hurt. In the first stanza, Petrarca makes two statements that seem to oppose each other but are more focused on himself and his current state. “I find no peace, and I am not at war, I fear and hope, and burn and I am ice;” he is beginning to set the tone to the poem by expressing the turmoil within himself. He begins by stating how he isn’t happy and at peace with himself yet he isn’t at war either to create a dramatic sense of his emotions. 

Petrarca then transitions to mentioning Laura and how not having his feelings matched by her affects him. “One keeps me jailed who neither locks nor opens, nor keeps me for her own nor frees the noose;”He begins to use words that mention another individual (Laura) and her actions that seem to contribute to his mood. By capitalizing in the sudden pauses he brings the readers along with him through his emotional journey. In the first stanza we felt his sense of feeling absent within himself while he is trying to figure out what he feels to a now a messy disheveled and desperate state of thoughts. The sudden pauses in the second stanza makes his disheveled state clear as it seems as though he is trying to figure out and pinpoint the feeling her rejection has caused “ Love does not kill, nor does he loose my chains;” He feels like his pain is being inflicted on him and is trying to make sense of it, for he loves Laura but not having his feelings reciprocated by her is causing his suffer. 

In the midst of trying to make sense of his emotions he begins to put the blame towards Laura, his “lady”, by stating that it’s her fault that he is in such anguish and torment. “I dislike death as much as I do life: because of you, lady, I am this way.” The shift in phrasing here suggests a profoundly dramatic tone while also emphasizing “I,” implying a scratch to the poet’s ego. 

Francesco Petrarca quote: Peace I do not find, and I have no wish … | Quotes of famous people
Francesca Petrarca by Justus van Gent

Petrarca’s emotions of hurt and anguish is conveyed through the way the poem is written with the sudden pauses to create a sense of confusion, to the oppositions paired together. Overall illustrating a roller coaster of feelings Petrarca takes the readers along as he tries to clear his emotions and pinpoint the cause. 

Canzoniere 132: Confusion

Philippe Jacques van Bree: Laura and Petrarch at the Fountain of Vaucluse

Similar to the rest of the poems in Il Canzoniere, the general theme in poem 132 is love. However, in this poem, Petrarca seems to question love and shows a sense of confusion regarding this feeling.

In Stanza I, Petrarca writes “If it’s not love, then what is it I feel?/But if it’s love, by God, what is this thing?” He is trying to make sense of this feeling, which seems difficult because he himself is uncertain of the answer. Being that love is such a complex matter, one is bound to feel every feeling every aspect of it, just like Petrarca. He then continues by making two metaphors. The first is love being good, but feeling pain from it. The second is love being bad, but enjoying the pain that it gives you. Here he is expressing his bitter-sweet love for Laura. Though it may bring him unruly pain and confusion, this pain and confusion is giving him the strength to continue loving her.

In Stanza II, Petrarca realizes that he is only bringing himself pain by continuing this love for Laura. He states “And if against my will, what good lamenting?” Here it’s as though he understands that there is no point in crying and feeling sad because there is nothing that he can do about it. Since she was married and had children, his overall love for her was forbidden. After, he acknowledges that he does not give heart “consent” to feel the way he feels. I, however, disagree with this statement because it seems to be contradicting. He has an obsessive love for a woman that he cannot have, yet does not give his heart consent to feel this way.

In Stanza III, Petrarca uses imagery to describe that he is conflicted in this matter. In other words, he is stuck on a small boat in the middle of the ocean without something to steer him. The “contrasting winds” are his emotions. It seems like he is playing tug-of-war with himself because he knows that he is madly in love with Laura, but he also knows that this love is not right. He knows that continuing to love her pains him, but it’s utterly impossible for him not to feel love for her.

In Stanza IV, Petrarca feels as though his world has turned upside-down. Since he has no idea what he is doing or feeling (“so light of wisdom”) and accepts that he is making a big mistake (“so laden of error”), he “shiver in midsummer, burn in winter.” In other words, he is confused and uses irony to describe this confusion. Petrarca also makes a double entendre by using the word laden. In this context, he used this word to explain that is making many errors, but it can also mean to load a ship. This “ship” relates to him being stuck on the boat in Stanza III and the boat being “loaded” with more feelings, errors, and baggage for being in love with Laura. The boat is coming heavier over time making it heavier for it, or Petrarca, to go in the right direction.

Canzoniere 81: Divinity

A potrait of Franseco Petrarch source: https://stock.adobe.com/contributor/289930/georgios-kollidas

Throughout this poem, Petrarca speaks on his many misdeeds and how crushed he is by the weight of those mistakes until a “friend” comes and saves him. The main theme in this poem is error/mistake and this is evident because the poem begins with a very distressed Petrarca saying ” I am so weary under the ancient burden of my sins and evil ways.” This sentence makes me believe that he is reflecting on his past actions in a form of disgust and disappointment. However, I do not believe the only theme in this poem is mistakes, there is also God.

Petrarca speaks of his fear of “falling into his enemy”, and though this enemy could be a real person, he is most likely referring to Satan and falling into temptation, until a “friend” comes and saves him from his misery and bad deeds. In this poem, the “friend” was God himself speaking to Petrarca, telling him to trust Him and His guidance to lead him down a righteous path. Although there are could be other interpretations of the friend he speaks about(especially that the friend he speaks of is Laura), this is unlikely due to the capitalization of the word “Friend” in the poem.

Petrarca ends poem 81 with a simile that I believe ties the poem together very well; “Will you give me wings like a dove To rise from Earth and find rest.” He wishes to leave behind all his prior errors and mistakes and go up to heaven with God to start over. This metaphor also shows just how much of an impact religion had on his mindset, he hopes that one day he will be able to find rest by the grace of God. However, this metaphor is also very sad, the “rest” he speaks of could also be perceived as death.