Tag: Giovanni Boccaccio

The Portrayal of Religion in Italian Literature 

Throughout this semester, we have learned and read the works of several Italian writers and poets, including Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarca, Giovanni Boccaccio, and Niccolò Machiavelli. While one topic in these texts was women, it was apparent that religion was a runner-up in terms of significance and popularity. In fact, the majority of these writers followed the Christian, Catholic religions and discussed their points of view on the religion as a whole. 

Dante’s Nine Circles of Hell

Firstly, this can be viewed in Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. Dante states unequivocally that Christianity is the only genuine religion. Belief in Jesus’ divinity is required for admission to Paradiso (heaven), Purgatorio (purgatory), and, in most cases, Inferno (hell). Dante believes that non-belief is not excused by ignorance of Jesus’ presence. He considers Christianity to be not only the path to happiness but also a necessary component of his concept of what it is to be a virtuous, genuine person, which in turn is a strong opinion for one to have in today’s society since there are so many religions and ways of life. Dante’s devotion to orthodox Christianity and criticism of priests reflect his fears and concerns about the Church’s foundation. He was also very adamant about his beliefs of the separation of church and state. He describes his constant anger for church officials who abandon their religious duties in order to obtain wealth and power. For instance, in Canto 33, Archbishop Ruggieri is found in the second band of the ninth circle. Here Ugolino, an innocent man found guilty alongside his four sons by Ruggieri, is found chewing on Ruggieri’s head. Since the archbishop left them locked in a tower and starved them to death after Ugolino clearly put his trust in the archbishop, he was now condemned to Antenora, the traitor’s band of the ninth circle, with his head being chewed off by the man he betrayed forever. This is one of many stories portrayed in the Divine Comedy by Dante that clergymen are punished due to their wrongdoings in life. 

Illustrations of Laura and Petrarca

 Additionally, religion, though not the main factor in Il Canzoniere by Francesco Petrarca, is a vital factor in the development of the text. His poems, mainly inspired by his lover, Laura, show him on his path to reach happiness and glory. However, he realizes that only faith in Christianity is how he can achieve this glow and happiness. This leaves him in a constant war with himself regarding love and religion. In Canzoniere 264, Petrarca states “I go thinking, and so strong a pity for myself assails me in thought, that I’m forced sometimes to weep with other tears than once I did: for seeing my end nearer every day, I’ve asked God a thousand times for those wings with which our intellect can rise from this mortal prison to heaven.” (“Petrarch (1304–1374) – The Complete Canzoniere: 245-305”) This depicts Petrarca contemplating the cost of his devotion to Laura. He is in excruciating pain as a result of it. He considers his love for Laura to be a threat and distraction to his faith. 

Although Catholicism was prominent during this time, Boccaccio on the other hand made it clear that he did not approve of the Church’s activities and behavior, remarkably similar to Dante. Religion was seen to be practiced by foolish people in The Decameron. He saw that the church was a breeding ground for evil, and “marriage” was a meaningless transaction. The Decameron Web also describes that these texts were seen to be “a favorite topic of mockery” when it came to religion. His Day One, Story One in The Decameron regarded a man that made many sins, by the name of Messire Chappelet du Prat, but because he confessed all of his sins before he died, The Friar left thinking that this enormous sinner was a truly holy man. This man was declared a saint and was admired by Catholics. The main narrative was criticism of saint adoration and the Catholic Church’s organization and infrastructure, but not on Catholicism as a religion. 

Also similar to Dante, Machiavelli attempted to subjugate religion to the state and give the state a non-religious character by totally separating religion from politics. He considered politics to be a separate activity with its own set of rules and regulations. In The Prince, Machiavelli frequently argued that religion was fabricated and that it was utilized to impose oppressive laws, additionally believing that Christianity made people unproductive and weak. The Prince cannot be bound by moral or religious reasons and he exists beyond morality. He may achieve his goals by depending on faith. Religion has no power over politics, and the church has no authority over the state. As a result, he proposed separating religion, morality, and politics. In political concerns, the king has the last say, and all other centers must be subject to political authority. In Chapter 18, he instructs Lorenzo with astounding, if not reckless, honesty, “There is nothing more important than appearing to be religious.” Here he is stating that even if a Prince may act the opposite, he should always be perceived as religious amongst other things. Machiavelli understands that many individuals are prepared to accept all types of dishonesty as long as their country is wealthy, prosperous, and peaceful. The most problematic component of Machiavelli’s life was his views on religion, particularly Christianity because the worst aspect of the age in which he lived was the prevalent corruption and greed among the Italian authorities and church officials. 

Overall, religion is a common theme amongst these writers. Though many of them are known to be religious, they do not agree with Church. In other words, they disagreed with the Christian and Catholic infrastructure because of the constant corruption found and had no issue sharing their opinions on this. Many were in fact known as humanists of the Renaissance era. 

The Portrayal of Women In Italian Literature

Over the course of this class, we’ve discussed and analyzed many famous Italian authors who are widely regarded as some of the greats within their field. However, while these authors remain influential today, their works were published at a point in history where women were generally considered to be inferior to men and were often forced into lesser roles in society. As a result of this, we can see the influence of gender roles and its impact on the representation of women in Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’, Boccaccio’s ‘The Decameron’, and Petrarch’s ‘Canzoniere’. 

‘The Divine Comedy’ focuses on the journey that Dante, the pilgrim, takes through Hell, Purgatory, and eventually Heaven (referred to as ‘Paradise’ within the text). Over the course of this journey, Dante speaks to countless souls that have moved on to the afterlife and writes about their stories. However, men tend to dominate these conversations while women are sidelined. In fact, there are only two significant women in ‘The Divine Comedy’ that we discussed: Francesca and Beatrice. Francesca first appears in Canto 5, which centers around the second circle of Hell – lust; Dante asks Francesca and Paolo ended up being damned, to which Francesca recounts the story of reading ‘Lancelot du lac’ with her lover and that “one point alone was the one that overpowered us” (canto 5, lines 131-132). While Dante feels pity for the couple, as apparent from him fainting as the canto ends, he still believes that they should be punished for their love. In canto 3, the gates of Hell read “Justice moved my high maker; divine power made me, highest wisdom, and primal love” (Canto 3, lines 4-6), which makes it evidently clear that Dante believes all souls in Hell deserve their punishment, no matter how much pity he feels. On the other hand, we have Beatrice, who plays a significant role in Dante’s literature as a whole. In ‘The Divine Comedy’, Beatrice is the woman who made Dante’s journey possible in the first place. As opposed to Francesca, who Dante shuns for her sin, Beatrice is the exact opposite; he reveres Beatrice as graceful, beautiful, and holy. This is especially evident once we reach ‘Paradiso’, as Beatrice is the woman who allows Dante to come into contact with God, which is shown in the quote “The role that Dante assigns to her is reminiscent of the role that Christ plays in allowing humans to know God and achieve Heaven” (Carey, 2007, p.93). The portrayal of these two women are obviously very different, which makes it clear that Dante believes women should embody purity like Beatrice, and that those like Francesca who do not, should be punished. 

An illustration of Beatrice guiding Dante by Gustave Dore in 1857 (from: Gustave Doré – Dante Alighieri – Inferno – plate 7 (Beatrice Stock Photo. Alamy . (n.d.). Retrieved December 23, 2021, from https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-gustave-dor-dante-alighieri-inferno-plate-7-beatrice-137875413.html)

On the other hand, we have ‘The Decameron’ which features several stories centering around women. As opposed to Dante, Boccaccio depicts many strong, witty women that are able to stand up for themselves despite the stigma around doing so at the time. A prime example of this is seen in the story of the Madonna Filippa, which is the 7th story of the 6th day; This story centers around Filippa, who is caught cheating on her husband and is then taken to trial, where she could be put to death if found guilty. Instead of denying her crime, she admits to the judge that she was guilty of adultery and defends her actions by stating that she’s never denied her husband anything, that she simply has surplus love to give and asks the judge “Am I to cast it to the dogs? Is it not much better to bestow it on a gentleman that loves me more dearly than himself, than to suffer it to come to nought or worse?” (line 17). Seemingly through her wit alone, she’s able to get the crowd and judge on her side, and gets the law changed such that only women who commit adultery for money are punished. However, upon further inspection, this story isn’t as empowering as it seems. Firstly, while many women in The Decameron stand up for themselves (which was revolutionary in literature at the time), they generally don’t challenge specific laws or roles placed on women by society. This rings true for Filippa as well. She does challenge the law on her own, but even after her defense, it remains put in place and is only changed such that “thenceforth only such women as should wrong their husbands for money should be within its purview” (line 18); Filippa is only able to change the law to fit her given circumstances rather than calling for the abolition of said statute, or to have men included in it’s punishment. Additionally, Boccaccio seems to allude that Filippa’s beauty played a big part in her success. As Marcel Janssens states, women in The Decameron are often able to succeed in defending themselves “provided she is beautiful, witty, and tricky” (Wright, 1991, p. 27), and Filippa falls into this category as well. Early on in this story, it’s stated that Filippa’s beauty and poised nature caused the judge to feel sympathetic towards her, as shown in the quote “The Podestà, surveying her, and taking note of her extraordinary beauty, and exquisite manners, and the high courage that her words evinced, was touched with compassion for her” (line 11). While Filippa made a compelling argument that was able to get the crowd on her side, the prior quote begs the question: If Filippa did not have her “extraordinary beauty”, would she have been as successful?

Finally, we have Petrarch, whose work is unique as it only focuses on one woman: Laura. Despite nearly all of Petrarch’s poems being centered around his love for Laura (even after her death), she never actually speaks in any of his work. Instead, Petrarch decides to speak about her and describe how much he loves her, rather than depicting any direct interactions the two may have had. Similar to the depictions of Beatrice in ‘The Divine Comedy’, Petrarch describes Laura as if she’s a holy figure rather than a normal woman. This is especially seen in sonnet 90, where he states “The way she walked was not the way of mortals but of angelic forms;” (lines 9-10) and refers to her as “a godly spirit and a living sun” (line 12). While Petrarch clearly loves Laura deeply and praises her highly, this does little to let the reader know who she was as a person in real life. Due to Laura’s lack of a voice within the text, Nancy Vickers points out that “bodies fetishized by a poetic voice logically do not have a voice of their own; the world of making words, of making texts, is not theirs” (Cox, 2005, p. 3). Ultimately, Petrarch’s depiction of Laura is one that many women deem to be fetishizing, as she seemingly has no thoughts or words of her own and is only seen through the eyes of the poet.

An engraving that depicts both Laura and Petrarch done by Antonio Salamanca (from: Antonio Salamanca (1500-62) – Laura and Petrarch. Royal Collection Trust. (n.d.). Retrieved December 23, 2021, from https://www.rct.uk/collection/809553/laura-and-petrarch)

Overall, Dante, Boccaccio, and Petrarch are all very influential authors, and their works should still be taught and read today due to how much they’ve impacted literature as we know it. However, it’s also important to note that these works were products of their time, which is evidently clear from how each author portrays women; ranging from Boccaccio’s depiction of women who use their wits and beauty to get what they want, to Petrarch and Dante’s love interests who embody holiness. 

Citations:

  1. Dante, A. D. (1996). The divine comedy of dante alighieri : Inferno. Oxford University Press USA – OSO. 
  2. Carey, Brooke L., “Le Donne di Dante: An Historical Study of Female Characters in The Divine Comedy” (2007). Syracuse University Honors Program Capstone Projects. 573. https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/573
  3. Decameron web. Decameron Web | Texts. (2010, February 15). Retrieved December 23, 2021, from https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?myID=nov0607&lang=eng 
  4. WRIGHT, E. C. (1991). Marguerite Reads Giovanni: Gender and Narration in the “Heptaméron” and the “Decameron.” Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Réforme, 15(1), 21–36. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43445607 
  5.   Cox, V. (2005). Sixteenth-century women Petrarchists and the legacy of Laura. Retrieved December 23, 2021, from https://www.projectcontinua.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/16th-C-Women-Petrarchists-and-the-Legacy-of-Laura.pdf  
  6. Petrarca, Francesco, Selected Poems from the Canzoniere
  7. Antonio Salamanca (1500-62) – Laura and Petrarch. Royal Collection Trust. (n.d.). Retrieved December 23, 2021, from https://www.rct.uk/collection/809553/laura-and-petrarch  
  8. Gustave Doré – Dante Alighieri – Inferno – plate 7 (Beatrice Stock Photo. Alamy . (n.d.). Retrieved December 23, 2021, from https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-gustave-dor-dante-alighieri-inferno-plate-7-beatrice-137875413.html 

The Roles of Men and Women in “The Decameron”

Giovanni Boccaccio’s “The Decameron” is set at a time period in which in society women were generally held at lower social standings than those of men. In The Decameron although women were demonstrated to have no significant social status, it is seeming that women did have an upperhand in some aspects. Throughout the 100 stories when it did come down to Boccaccio comparing men and women he did seem to favor the women as better in the terms of evil and good. Taking a closer look into female/male relationships in the stories Boccaccio has shown the idea that women are much more stronger, cunning and lustful than men. 

While men are portrayed to be “strong” the women have to tolerate a lot more adversity than men, which follows back to women having a lack of alternatives. Women must bear the hardships because they have no sense of power to eliminate them. For example, the tenth day, tenth story in The Decameron the story of Griselda is told in which she puts up with such horrors and abuse of power acted upon by Gualtieri, her supposed husband.  Gualtieri uses his role and power to temper with Griselda’s emotions through various “tests”, which was fine at first but he got carried away and put her through a lot of emotional distress but her reaction was rather the same through it all. She was sad and heartbroken but had no choice but to put up with it because she vowed to do anything to keep him happy. In the Decameron web it states, “My lord, do with me as thou mayst deem best for thine own honour and comfort, for well I wot that I am of less account than they, and unworthy of this honourable estate to which of thy courtesy thou hast advanced me. ” [ 029 ] By which answer Gualtieri was well pleased, witting that she was in no degree puffed up with pride by his, or any other’s, honourable entreatment of her. [ 030 ] A while afterwards, having in general terms given his wife to understand that the vassals could not endure her daughter, he sent her a message by a servant. So the servant came, and: “ Madam, ” quoth he with a most dolorous mien, “ so I value my life, I must needs do my lord’s bidding. He has bidden me take your daughter and . . . ” [ 031 ] He said no more, but the lady by what she heard, and read in his face, and remembered of her husband’s words, understood that he was bidden to put the child to death. Whereupon she presently took the child from the cradle, and having kissed and blessed her, albeit she was very sore at heart, she changed not countenance, but placed it in the servant’s arms,” Boccaccio’s descriptive language use detailing the cruel acts Gualtieri made towards Griselda serves to prove how women are much more able to tolerate more adversity than men and show his point of view.

Furthermore, Boccaccio had also depicted women to be superior to men because of their cunning ways. Women have ways of outsmarting men in this society, though men are viewed to be the more physically able, “smart” and powerful they did not possess the capabilities of women. In The Decameron Boccaccio writes about the story of a young woman, Madonna Fiordaliso who creates a great plan to outsmart  Andreuccio on the second day, fifth story. Andreuccio goes about his way with merchant friends to purchase some horses in Naples, he was unable to come to an agreement with any sellers. As a result he went around showing the gold florins within his purse, as a way of basically showing the sellers that he was actually serious about purchasing the horses. Unfortunately for  him many others were able to see his revealed purse including  Madonna Fiordaliso. Along with her was a woman who was Sicilian like her who is much older, and she claims to recognize Andreuccio and greets him. The older woman also tells  Madonna Fiordaliso that she knows a whole lot about him, as a result Fiordaliso uses the information to her advantage and creates a wicked plan. She invites him to her home and plays the trick that they are somehow siblings. After doing so he goes to quickly use the bathroom and is encountered with the trap she has set, he stays stuck while she is able to attain his purse. In The Decameron Web it states, “ It was a very hot night; so, no sooner was Andreuccio alone than he stripped himself to his doublet, and drew off his stockings and laid them on the bed’s head; and nature demanding a discharge of the surplus weight which he carried within him, he asked the lad where this might be done, and was shewn a door in a corner of the room, and told to go in there. [ 038 ] Andreuccio, nothing doubting, did so, but, by ill luck, set his foot on a plank which was detached from the joist at the further end, whereby down it went, and he with it. By God’s grace he took no hurt by the fall, though it was from some height, beyond sousing himself from head to foot in the ordure which filled the whole place, which, [ 039 ] that you may the better understand what has been said, and that which is to follow, I will describe to you.” 

There have also been times in which men have both outsmarted and used power against women in The decameron but they have only done so through their own depravity and not because their intellicity superior. An example of so is presented in the Decameron fifth day, third story in which the story of Pietro di Vinciolo and his wife is told.  Pietro finds his wife’s lover in their chicken coop and decides the suitable punishment for them would be for the man to have sex with them both. Pietro was only able to obtain what he desires not through superior cunning or intellect but through his fortune in catching his wife’s lover.

Boccaccio’s The Decameron, touches on a variety of topics and themes, providing a significant amount of  perspectives on the differing characteristics of men and women. The stories propose that women are significantly superior in many aspects. In the stories, the various narrators compare both male and female attempts with characteristics to provide a reference of which to compare the genders.

Sources:

Tenth Day – tenth story (February 15, 2010)

https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?myID=nov1010&lang=eng

Second day- fifth story (february 15, 2010)

https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?myID=nov0205&lang=eng

Fifth day- third story  (february 15, 2010)

https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?myID=nov0503&lang=eng

Representation of Women in the Decameron (their roles in the stories)

Giovanni Boccaccio created The Decameron in a time period back when women were seen as inferior to men, and quite frankly anyone else in society. They were seen as individuals holding lower social positions than men. In The Decameron, women are mostly always shown as severely restricted, and unable to do or act in ways that they wish they could. They were depicted in a way where they were not allowed to hold power or have a significant position in society, and that is exactly the way they lived their lives in the 14th-century. Instead, they were made to maintain their positions of stay-at-home wives and mothers, whose primary focus was to solely care for their families. However, In The Decameron, Boccaccio showcased women as being a lot more independent and more powerful for the most part (not all female characters showed this.) He surpasses the roles and expectations of women from that time period, by illustrating women as more intelligent, more patient, and way more lustful than they normally would be. He even shows women as being a lot more capable than men to endure a lot of hardships, heartache, and pain that others have put them through. All things considered, Boccaccio seemed to have been feminist, as seen by a lot of these stories.

The Decameron is a collection of stories or novellas by the 14th-century Italian author. In this series of stories, women have been represented in many different ways, both good and bad. One of the many representations being women outwitting men, and surprisingly, is something that happened pretty often. 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 (An example of this being in the fifth story of the second day). In this story, a young and beautiful Sicilian woman named Madonna Fiordaliso sees Andreuccio’s open wallet filled with a ton of money and decides that she wants to take it from him. Fiordaliso uses all the information that she gathered from her older companion 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 stays in her home.

He also showcases these women as very loyal, in these stories, enduring things that many of us would have most likely walked away from. (An example of this is on the ninth story of the third day.) In this story, the protagonist, Gillette, is very infatuated and crazy in love with Bertrand. She watched and learned her father’s medical skills, and implemented them on the king who unfortunately became sick. 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. 

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. This is clearly shown with Donna Zinevra (second day, ninth story), who dresses as a young man in order to escape her husband Bernabò. 

This same concept can be seen in reverse where men are the ones outwitting women (An example of this being the fifth day, eighth story.) In this story, Anastasio, a Gentleman of the Family of the Honesti, fell in love with the Daughter of Signior Paulo Traversario. However, the feelings were not mutual and she was very unkind to him. Seeing that his attempts to make her fall in love with him were not working, he moved away. While he was walking in the forest he saw a naked woman being chased by an angry knight and dogs, but soon came to realize that they were already dead. He used this to his advantage and showed the woman with whom he was in love with this crazy event, scaring her into thinking that if she did not fall in love with him, he would do the same to her. This goes to show that although Boccaccio tried to show a positive side of women, in this case, their independence and intelligence, this story along with others are very counterintuitive. They show how women in fact still have a weaker, less intelligent, dependent side of them that others can easily notice and manipulate in their favor. All in all, women are depicted in both negative and positive ways in The Decameron, and we are given a glimpse of these different illustrations of them in all of the stories.

      Citation;

Women Prevail in the Decameron

In Boccaccio’s writing, there are many themes that were brought to light. For me, the most significant was women. I love the way women were portrayed in his writing because I feel like it gave them an edge that they did not really get in Dante’s writing, nor Petrarca’s. Overall, his stories delivered different perspectives on women that I found intriguing to read about. On the third day, ninth story, we learned about Giletta. She is a wealthy young woman and also the daughter of a physician. She was separated from her love, Beltramo at an early age. When Beltramo’s father died, he was instructed to go to Paris and she never had a reason to go there. Even when she reached a marriageable age, she never forgot about Beltramo. Her love for him grew stronger when she found out he turned into the most handsome young man. When the news reached her about the King of France being very ill and not having a physician cure him, she was overjoyed. Now she had a real reason to go to France. 

Using her father’s techniques, she made a powder from particular herbs that she believed helped with the illness that the King suffered from, and she rode her horse to Paris. She used her looks and age to convey the King and show her the fistula from the badly treated tumor on his chest. As soon as she saw it, she immediately knew how to cure him. She told him that she will have him cured in eight days, but he did not believe her. He said it made no sense that this girl would do something that professional doctors couldn’t do. When he was about to dismiss her, she told him, “My lord, you despise my art because I am young and a woman, but let me remind you that I practice medicine not only with my own knowledge of Master Gerado of Narbonne, who was my father and a famous physician in his day.” The King said fine. She told him that if she does not cure him, he can have her burned. However, if she cures him, the King offers her a husband. When the King was cured, he stuck to his word and let her have Beltramo. This proves that Giletta was able to use her young beauty and skill to get what she wanted from the King. 

Additionally, on the fourth day, first story, the daughter of the Prince of Salerno, Tancredi, also did something similar. She was also a beautiful young lady who was very loved by everyone, especially her father. She secretly fell in love with a man named Guiscardo, her fathers valet, and wanted to find a way to meet him in secret. She wrote him a letter and gave him instructions on how to get to an abandoned cave. She put the letter in the hollow of a reed plant. When she gave him the letter, she stated, “Make a bellows of this tonight for your serving girl to keep the fire burning.” Once he read the letter, he felt like the luckiest man on Earth. The cave was hollowed out of a hill for a long time and it was lit by a small opening in the side of the hill. The cave had been abandoned for so long so it was covered by brambles and weeds. The cave can be reached by a stairway that is blocked by a strong door that no one knew how to open, so it was forgotten about. After days of the young lady trying to open the secret door in the cave, she finally opened it with the right tools. She was finally able to walk down the cave and see the outer entrance. She used the ladies-in-waiting to tell Guiscardo how to get there, and without hesitation and without anyone knowing, he made a rope with loops to climb into the cave, and he wrapped himself in leather skin to protect himself from the brambles, and waited down there for the lady to show up. This proves that in the Decameron, women prevailed and exploited men with graciousness when needed, which is not how women are typically portrayed. For instance, “The Ethical Dimension of the ‘Decameron’ states, “Many contemporary readers, believing that the right to secual freedom is inviolable and that control of one’s personal circumstances is supremely desirable, prefer seeing women like Ghita as “victims” or “heroes” and men like Tofano as “villians.” Moreover, many people now seem predisposed to side with a winner even when that winner is a clever manipulator of appearances.” This quote from Marilyn Migiel proves the stories written by Boccaccio portrayed women in a more prevailing manner, as they were able to use their personal skill or tendencies to get what they wanted. 

Citations:

Decameron Web | Texts. (n.d.). The Decameron: Day 3, Story 9. https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?myID=nov0309&lang=eng

Decameron Web | Texts. (n.d.). The Decameron: Day 4, Story 1. https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/texts/DecShowText.php?myID=nov0401&lang=eng

Migiel, Marilyn “The Ethical Dimension of the Decameron” University of Toronto Press, 2015-09-02

Desiderio, Inganno e Fortuna

Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, Paris
Illustration from a French edition of The Decameron, fifteenth century

Desiderio, inganno e fortuna sono tre temi ricorrenti nel Decameron di Giovanni Boccaccio. Questi tre temi diventano sempre più evidenti quando compaiono in storie improbabili sui monaci in I-4. L’articolo di Marga Cottino-Jones, Desire and the Fantastic in the Decameron: The Third Day, pubblicato nel 1993 dall’American Association of Teachers of Italian, spiega che Boccaccio intende sfidare il modo moralmente imposto in cui vengono viste determinate figure della società. Come bussole morali, ci si aspetta che i monaci diano l’esempio di purezza; proprio per questo Boccaccio li usa come soggetti perfetti per mostrare che le persone soccomberanno alla loro natura umana quando i loro desideri saranno spinti a limiti straordinari.
Il primo giorno di narrazione, Dioneo intrattiene il gruppo con la quarta storia di un monaco e un abate che vivevano in un monastero appartato. Qui Boccaccio allude ai dettagli specifici della posizione del monastero, creando una cornice per rendere possibile un evento improbabile. Un giorno un monaco, giovane e virile, nota una giovane ragazza che raccoglieva delle erbe nei loro campi, ed è subito colpito da una passione sensuale e desiderio carnale per la ragazza. Qui si può apprezzare come i suoi impulsi curiosi e naturali confrontano la castità del monaco. Dopo un po’ di conversazione, rendendosi conto che la ragazza era ben disposta alle sue avances, il monaco la porta di nascosto nella sua camera mentre gli altri dormivano. Ad un certo punto un abate si sveglia e si rende conto di ciò che sta succedendo all’interno della camera del giovane monaco. Allo stesso tempo, Il monaco è consapevole che l’abate lo aveva scoperto e lascia la ragazza nella sua stanza con la scusa che deve finire il suo lavoro e la rinchiude nella sua stanza per non essere scoperti. Poi dà la chiave all’abate che li aveva trovati. Quando l’abate entra nella stanza del monaco e vede la giovane, anche lui è tentato dalla giovane. Dopo aver preparato la sua trappola, il giovane monaco attende che l’abate cada vittima dei suoi desideri carnali. Una volta che l’abate esce dalla stanza del monaco, il monaco decide di tornare. A quel punto torna, l’abate lo affronta su ciò che ha trovato nella sua stanza. Il monaco risponde che è nel monastero da poco tempo e che non ha ancora appreso tutti gli insegnamenti. Tuttavia, ora che ha visto esattamente come l’abate gestisce una situazione del genere, sa come agirci se dovesse accadere di nuovo. Rendendosi conto che il monaco era consapevole della sua perversità con la donna, l’abate ritiene inopportuno castigare il monaco per lo stesso errore che lui stesso ha commesso. Lo perdona, e insieme scortano la giovane donna fuori dal monastero ma continuerà a visitarli. Alla fine della storia, la fortuna premia le malefatte del monaco e del suo complice (l’abate) permettendoli di continuare con i suoi impulsi naturali.

Desire and the Fantastic in the Decameron: The Third Day

https://www-jstor-org.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/stable/479985?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=desire+the+decameron+iii%2C+9&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Ddesire%2Bthe%2Bdecameron%2Biii%252C%2B9%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A9f84f139219efe03b9c41542b2ef8913&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

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