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Giovanni Boccaccio's Treatment Of Women

889 Words4 Pages

The Medieval Ages, like many eras of civilization, provided little advantages for women. They were seen as lower in status than men, therefore more subservient. Throughout the Decameron, written by Giovanni Boccaccio, there are several depictions of women that both dispute and support this. Three of the best examples show women both honored and brave yet objectified and belittled. Boccaccio’s Decameron includes several stories told by a group trying to escape the Black Death. In contrast to the status of women in medieval times, the selected starting leader of the group is the eldest of the women, Pampinea. The group then rotates until each man and woman has had a chance to be leader (Boccaccio 608). Each tale is meant to provide humor to restore their spirits in very grim time. Some of the tales, such as the first tale of the first day, do not include any extensive mention of women. Others, like the last story of the last day, center on the status and treatment of women. Beginning with the last tale of the Decameron, readers see the role of the woman in keeping with the status of women during medieval times. Griselda, a young woman who tends to her father’s house and animals, is admired and chosen by …show more content…

There are two men, Messer Guglielmo Rossiglione and Messer Guglielmo Guardastagno. The latter slept with the former’s wife, angering him. As revenge, Rossiglione kills Guardastagno and serves his heart to his wife, unbeknownst to her. When she finds out, instead of apologizing for her actions, she tells her husband that “now that she has eaten such a noble dish, made from the heart of so gallant and courteous a knight as Messer Guglielmo Guardastagno, God forbid that any food should ever pass my lips again (636).” With those words, she flung herself out the window to her death. She refused to be sorry for what she did and refused to be humiliated by her

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