The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio - 2310 Words

â€Å"You are to look upon this grim opening as travelers on foot confront a steep, rugged mountain: beyond it lies a most enchanting plain which they appreciate all the more for having toiled up and down the mountain first,† (Boccaccio, pg. 7). The Decameron, by Giovanni Boccaccio embodies this verse. Until this time period, religion guided society like an invisible hand pushing everyone along. Throughout many generation religion evolved. From polytheism to monotheism, form idols to churches, people leaned on the virtues that religion presented, and led their lives accordingly. Everyone learned to submit themselves to the Church as they were too scared to pave their own virtuous way. Instead of using the Church as a guide they surrendered†¦show more content†¦In a short tale that Elissa shares, she depicts how corruption spreads through the Church. The short story begins with only one nun, Francesca, committing an act of lust. The appearance of a nun is the icon that represents the church’s endeavor to rid themselves of physical pleasure and embed themselves with holistic piety. Nonetheless in the midst of their convents lie nuns fulfilling all their desires. As the story progresses, the reader becomes educ ated that the abbess, Usimbalda, â€Å"who was held by the nuns and indeed by all her acquaintances to be a good and holy woman,† (Pg. 561) was falling into her physical inclinations as well. Usimbalda led the convent and was supposed to be a role model for all the nuns to be inspired by, yet she could not do what she preached. While these individuals did not represent what they stood for, the pinnacle is the abbess’s reaction to Francesca’s indulgence. As the Usimbalda chases down the hall to catch Francesca red handed, she asks in a resolute tone â€Å"where is this miscreant?† (pg. 561). Satirically the abbess had just left the arms of her priest before yelling out those words and in place of a veil wore the Priests pants on her head. The irony continues as the abbess addresses Francesca saying that her â€Å"scandalous conduct would defile the good name, the holiness, and honor of the convent†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pg 562). This image almost mimics what was going on in the larger scheme ofShow MoreRelatedThe Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio1638 Words   |  6 Pages In the book, The Decameron, by Giovanni Boccaccio, there is many tales but I am only going to speak of two.The first tale, Fabricio Goes to Naples, was told by Fiammetta. Fiammetta’s story differs from the rest of the stories by, his has many dangers that occur in one night rather than over a period of years. The second tale, Bernardo di Rossini and His Wife, was told by Dioneo. This story was different than the others by, it was a comedy story, showing to laugh over bad things than over virtuousRead MoreBiography Of Giovanni Boccaccio s Magnum Opus The Decameron 2435 Words   |  10 Pagesplace to place, and so, calamitously, had spread abroad into the Westâ€Å". These are the lines from Giovanni Boccaccio s magnum opus The Decameron , which consists of various tales narrated by seven young women and three young men seeking refuge in a secluded villa outside Florence to escape from one of the greatest catastrophies in human history. The Black Death . Miniature of the Decameron by Taddeo Crivelli from Ferrara (1467) INTRODUCTION: The most memorable example of what hasRead MoreEurope and the Black Death Essay1541 Words   |  7 PagesBlack Death by letters, poems, or even stories. The Decameron, by Giovanni Boccaccio, is a fictional medieval allegory. Within this frame narrative, 100 fictional tales were told by among the characters, describing the life in Italy the same years as the bubonic plague. In the text, Boccaccio depicts a story about ten wealthy Italians fleeing to the countryside after news of this mysterious deadly disease. Through interpretations of the story, Boccaccio gives insight about the Black Death’s effects, believedRead MoreEuropes Response to the Black Death Essay1296 Words   |  6 Pageschose this route, embracing the good side of humanity. While others where lashing out and living recklessly, some chose to take a more reasonable response. Giovanni Boccaccio provides a first hand account of the occurrences surrounding the black plague in the introduction to his stories in From the Decameron. In Giovanni Boccaccio’s From the Decameron: The Plague Hits Florence he depicts one of the more positive responses to the pandemic: Many other people steered a middle course between these two extremesRead MoreAnalysis of Giovanni Boccaccios The Decameron670 Words   |  3 Pagesï » ¿Reaction paper: The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio is not a singular, enclosed text but rather a series of texts that unfold as a result of a frame tale. The Decameron is set during the plague in Italy, and at the beginning of the story, various people have fled the city and are hiding away in the countryside. They tell tales to pass the time and to amuse themselves and these tales make up The Decameron. The conceit is very similar to that of The CanterburyRead MoreAnalysis Of Boccaccio s The Decameron 1345 Words   |  6 Pages Throughout the various novelle of the Decameron there lies a rather conflicting role of women in relation to the society that Boccaccio s Decameron was set in. From novella to novella the theme of women s gender role fluctuates between misogynistic to feminist. It can be argued that Boccaccio was a feminist ahead of his time or that he shared the traditional views towards women of 14th century Italy. Overall, it is fair to say that Boccaccio does depict women as transcending men in many respectsRead MoreComparison Between Boccaccio s The Decameron 1296 Words   |  6 PagesIn the community that Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron is set in, females are held at a lower social ranking than males. As with most communities up till relatively recently in the past, women were not permitted to have a significant role in the community, other than that of a wife and matriarch. In The Decameron, Boccaccio shows that while they may not have notable social ranking, females do have an a dvantage in most aspects of the male-female relationship. Even though the tales deal with a rangeRead MoreEssay on Comparing Cantebury Tales and The Decameron807 Words   |  4 PagesComparing Cantebury Tales and The Decameron There are many different roles for women shown in â€Å"The Canterbury Tales† and â€Å"The Decameron†. Both books take place around the same time frame, 1300AD. â€Å"The Canterbury Tales†, takes place in London, England and â€Å"The Decameron† takes place in Florence, Italy. It would be just to think that since both books take place in a western civilization, both books would reflect the same morals and daily life styles. This is not the case at all. Throughout thisRead MoreThe Decameron: Misogynist or Feminist?2135 Words   |  9 PagesThe Decameron: A Feminist or Misogynist text? Giovanni Boccaccio is one of the leading Italian writers in the 1300s and has been considered as the father of Italian writing style through his composition of one hundred novelle. The Decameron continuously pictures women not as the objects of discussion but as the active producers and interpreters of their actions. Women are portrayed as they are or as they should be; they are shown to be as aggressive as men are while at the same time they can beRead More The Decameron Essay1759 Words   |  8 PagesThe Decameron BOCCACCIO, GIOVANNI Born in 1313, Giovanni Boccaccio is one of the greatest figures in Italian Literature. He was born in Paris, France by a French woman who remains unknown, but on many occasion he speaks very highly of her. His father is an Italian; they are part of the middle class. As for their professional status, they were Merchants / Bankers. Although, Bocaccio was born out of wedlock, his father legitimized him and took him to his house, provided him with