The fact is that I went to work, but what you donât seem to realize, and I didnât either, is that today is the feast of Saint Galeone3 and everybodyâs on holiday, and thatâs the reason I came home so early. And so the poor deluded husband returned with her and her lover to the palace, within whose walls it thenceforth became easier for Pyrrhus and Lydia to meet, at regular intervals, for their common delight and pleasure. Venerable ladies, it is my conviction that there is no enterprise, however perilous or difficult it may be, that those who are fervently in love will not have the courage to undertake. At this point, he was interrupted by the lady, who rose to her feet and said to her husband, in tones of considerable annoyance: But Love, that great comforter and excellent teacher of guile, bolstered her resolve, and through her maidservant she sent him word that she would carry out all of his demands to the letter, and without undue delay. The book’s title The Decameron combines the two Greek words “deka” meaning ten and “hemera” meaning day. Decameron Summary. In fact, youâre putting so much vigour into it that if this tree were to be given so hard a buffeting, there wouldnât be a single pear left on it.â Nicostratos was completely taken in, and although the pain had been quite excruciating and he was rending the air with his plaints, nevertheless, now that the tooth was out, it seemed to him that he felt much better. The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio, translated by James M. Rigg. And although this has been proved in many of the stories we have heard, nevertheless I believe that I can prove it better still with the one I now propose to relate, in which you will hear of a lady whose deeds were far more favoured by Fortune than tempered by common sense. In fact, so far as it lies within their power, servants should treat their masters no differently from the way their masters treat them. One of his retainers, whose name was Pyrrhus, was a sprightly and elegant young man, handsomely proportioned, and skilled in every activity he chose to pursue, and Nicostratos loved and trusted him above all others. (2) Consequently I would not advise any of you to take the risk of following her example, seeing that Fortune is not always so kindly disposed, and that all men are not equally gullible. One of his retainers, whose name was Pyrrhus, was a sprightly and elegant young man, handsomely proportioned, and skilled in every activity he chose to pursue, and Nicostratos loved and trusted him above all others. And you, Pyrrhus, after all the trust I placed in you!â And so saying, he began to climb down again. One would think that since you are a man and get about a good deal, you ought to know the value of things; yet you sell a tub for five silver ducats, which I, a mere woman who hardly ever puts her nose outside the front door, seeing what a nuisance it was to have it in the house, have just sold to an honest fellow here for seven ducats. âI can only repeat that I saw you, and you were going to it merrily.â âNow that I have seen the fall of my honourâs adversary, all my anger has departed.â Until a moment ago you were very ill; how can you have recovered so rapidly? âWhat could be causing it, I wonder?â said Nicostratos. But so as not to disappoint the ladies, I shall mention just a few of them. And for this reason, it is my intention to tell you about the trick which a young woman, though she was of lowly condition, played on the spur of the moment upon her husband, in order to save her own skin. But even so Iâve made sure that we shall have enough food to last us for over a month. Until a moment ago you were very ill; how can you have recovered so rapidly? Having eaten a hearty breakfast and taken a short siesta, Friar Cipolla arose shortly after nones, and on perceiving that a great multitude of peasants had come to see the feather, he sent word to Guccio Imbratta that he was to come up to the citadel, bringing with him the bells and the saddle-bags. âWho the hell are you?â said Giannello. Having already reflected at length on Luscaâs original message, Pyrrhus had made up his mind that if she were to approach him again on the subject, his answer would be different, and he would do all in his power to please the lady, provided it could be proved that she was not simply putting his loyalty to the test. Day 6. What greater honour could you have than to be loved above all else by so noble and beautiful and wealthy a lady as this? âO alas, woe is me, why was I ever born, what did I do to deserve such a husband! âLook here, Lusca, I agree with everything you say, but on the other hand I know my master to be very wise and very shrewd, and now that he has entrusted me with the conduct of all his affairs, I strongly suspect that Lydia is doing this with his advice and encouragement, so as to put me to the test. Having already reflected at length on Luscaâs original message, Pyrrhus had made up his mind that if she were to approach him again on the subject, his answer would be different, and he would do all in his power to please the lady, provided it could be proved that she was not simply putting his loyalty to the test. He certainly was clever enough to have created the situations and the retorts. To be clear..this story is just a little fun and I absolutely implore everyone reading to please stay in your homes. Pyrrhus was greatly astonished to hear it, for he had never had the slightest inkling that the lady was in love with him, and suspected that she had sent the message in order to test his loyalty. Climb the tree and throw some of them down.â Theatre Review: ‘The Decameron: Day 7,’ streaming by Synetic Theater. Skipping stories 9.5 (abuse of trust), 9.7 (gore), 9.8 (violence without cause), 9.9 (domestic violence), and 9.10 (too explicit), I tell only story 9.6 before moving on to day 10. Hence r have often longed to do the thing r have done just now, and all I was waiting for was an opportunity to do it in the presence of men who would judge my cause impartially, as r trust you gentlemen will.â âHere I am, what can I do for you?â Each agrees to tell one story each day for ten days. No sooner had Nicostratos descended and found them sitting where he had left them than he began to shower them with abuse. So let us treat them and their belongings as they would treat us and ours. Iâve been keeping it to myself for ages as I didnât want to upset you, but now that others have begun to notice, itâs time that you were told. So he went up to Peronella, who was completely blocking up the mouth of the tub, and in the manner of a wild and hot-blooded stallion mounting a Parthian mare4 in the open fields, he satisfied his young manâs passion, which no sooner reached fulfilment than the scraping of the tub was completed, whereupon he stood back, Peronella withdrew her head from the tub, and the husband clambered out. If such a man should fail to grasp her bounty with both hands, and later suffer poverty and distress, he will only have himself to blame, not Fortune. If you wanted to indulge in that sort of thing, you have plenty of fine bedrooms in the house why donât you go and do it in one of those? The next day, Gabriotto dies in Andreuola's arms. âWhat is it you claim to be seeing?â So that my enjoyment therein should be no less complete than in other matters, I have decided that our Pyrrhus, since he is more worthy of my love than any other man, should supply my needs with his embraces, and such is the love that I bear him, that I am never content except when I am gazing or musing upon him. Hence r have often longed to do the thing r have done just now, and all I was waiting for was an opportunity to do it in the presence of men who would judge my cause impartially, as r trust you gentlemen will.â. 142 likes. But if she did, I should never dream of doing such an injury to my master, who already honours me more than I deserve. To which Nicostratos replied: âWe made a bargain, and weâll stick to it. Which of your equals will lead a more blissful life than your own, if only you will see reason? Posted By: Mary Ann Johnson on: July 19, 2020. To which Nicostratos replied: Story 6. âThe devil take you if you have such a low opinion of me as to suppose that, had I wanted to comport myself as scandalously as you claim to have seen, I should do it before your very eyes. Make the most of Fortuneâs blessings; donât spurn the lady, go out and meet her half-way, for you may be sure that if you fail to do so, not only will you bring about the certain death of your mistress, but you will reproach yourself so often for it that you too will want to die.â. There was a law in Prato that sentenced any woman caught in the act of adultery to be burned alive. âWhat could be causing it, I wonder?â said Nicostratos. But the lady wished to reassure him still further, and albeit she could hardly wait for him to take her in his arms, she was determined to keep the promise she had given him. It would surely be more seemly than doing it here in my presence.â. When Nicostratos began to protest, she interrupted him, saying: Heaven help me, if only I were fit and strong, I should climb up there and see for myself what these marvels are that he claims to be witnessing.â âThatâs all right,â said the good man. (2) Neifileâs story was so much to their liking that the ladies could not be restrained from laughing and talking about it, even though the king, who had ordered Panftlo to narrate his own tale, called upon them several times to be silent. But the two caskets are so alike that I often pick up the wrong one, which is what has happened today; for whereas I intended to bring along the one containing the feather, I have brought the one with the coals. Day VI stories show characters avoiding embarrassment by saying a clever remark. So take care never to speak to me of such matters again.â So Pyrrhus very quickly went to fetch the axe, and chopped the pear-tree down. The court erupts into laughter and agrees with Filippa's arguments. âHere, take this lamp, my good man, and see whether the jobâs been done to your satisfaction.â I feel quite capable of taking it out for you myself. When the tale was finished, the king ordered Filostrato to follow, and so he began: Adorable ladies, so numerous are the tricks that men, and husbands in particular, play upon you, that whenever any woman happens to play one on her husband, you should not only be glad to hear about it but you should also pass it on to as many people as you can, so that men will come to realize that women are just as clever as their husbands. âWhat can this mean?â said the lady. DECAMERON: SIXTH DAY, SEVENTH STORY Madonna Filippa is discovered by her husband with a lover and called before the magistrate, but by a prompt and ingenious answer she secures her acquittal and causes the statute to be amended. âWhy Nicostratos,â said Pyrrhus, âI must confess that you were right after all, and that my eyes were deceiving me when I was up in the tree. And when they had soothed and mollified him, and the pain had abated, he got up and went away. Nicostratos was completely taken in, and although the pain had been quite excruciating and he was rending the air with his plaints, nevertheless, now that the tooth was out, it seemed to him that he felt much better. âThereâs no need: I can tell you the reason. Here I am, stuck in this house from morning till night and working my fingers to the bone, so that we shall at least have sufficient oil to keep our lamp alight! Madonna Filippa Intro. During the sixth day of storytelling, Elissa is queen of the brigata and chooses for the theme stories in which a character avoids attack or embarrassment through a clever remark. More fool you, if that is what you believe; for you can rest assured that if flattery and coaxing proved ineffectual, he would take her by force, and youâd be powerless to stop him. Hence it is quite obvious that whatever it is that is distorting our vision, it must emanate from the pear-tree. You may rest assured that if I should ever feel the urge to do it, I shouldnât do it out here in the garden. He harangued his audience at great length, carefully stressing what was required of them, and on reaching the point where he was to display the Angel Gabrielâs feather, he first recited the Confiteor (11) and caused two torches to be lit; then, throwing back the cowl from his head, he carefully unwound the taffeta and drew forth the casket, which, after a few words in praise and commendation of the Angel Gabriel and his relic, he proceeded to open. â Joshua Cole Lucas is a relatively new member of Synetic but has already shown his clown and mimetic abilities in a work like The Tempest, where he played the part of Trinculo. The third demand presented a rather more difficult problem, but Love had greatly sharpened the ladyâs wits, and since she was no dullard in the first place, she had already thought of a way of fulfilling it. Do you think I canât see you?â âIf that is your advice, I shall act upon it,â said Nicostratos. LibriVox recording of The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio, translated by J. M. Rigg. I canât possibly have hurt you as much as you hurt me, when you were tugging at my hair just now.â A group of seven women and three men will tell ten stories a day; each person having their opportunity to tell a tale. Summary of Boccaccio’s the Decameron, Day 1 Story 6. by sawpan. And so saying, he chanted a hymn in praise of Saint Lawrence, opened up the casket, and displayed the coals. Tudor is a collective of bloggers that explores design in many forms – from interior design and architecture, to the culinary and decorative arts. The maidservant willingly agreed to carry out her mistressâs instructions; and at the first opportunity, having taken Pyrrhus aside, she conveyed the ladyâs message as best she could. âWhatâs the matter? He then handed seven silver ducats to the husband, and got him to carry it round to his house. And another thing: the loyalty of servants to their masters is quite a different matter from the loyalty of friends and equals. Pyrrhus, having swiftly clambered up, began to throw down some of the pears, and as he was doing so, he called out to Nicostratos saying: Having already reflected at length on Luscaâs original message, Pyrrhus had made up his mind that if she were to approach him again on the subject, his answer would be different, and he would do all in his power to please the lady, provided it could be proved that she was not simply putting his loyalty to the test. Rebhorn (2013) p. 512. Decameron‘s story of Teodora creates new myth of liberation; violence against men in fabliau and reality; Notes: [1] Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron, Day 6, Story 7, from Italian trans. âWe are just sitting here quietly,â said Pyrrhus and the lady. Under the Roman law of Augustus, a husband catching his wife in the act of adultery with a man … And because I desire this thing no less than other women, I long ago made up my mind that since Fortune has been so unkind as to give me an elderly husband, I would repair her omissions myself, and devise the means of winning solace and salvation through my own efforts. Previous Next . The Decameron begins with the flight of 10 young people (7 women and 3 men) from plague-stricken Florence in 1348. So they conveyed her to the garden, Nicostratos supporting her on one side and Pyrrhus on the other, and set her down on a lawn at the foot of a beautiful pear-tree. And when they had soothed and mollified him, and the pain had abated, he got up and went away. But if she will do three things to reassure me, she can count on me in future to do whatever she asks without a momentâs hesitation. You know that tub thatâs been cluttering up the house for ages? I know how virtuous you are, and as a matter of fact I saw the proof of it this very morning. Make the most of Fortuneâs blessings; donât spurn the lady, go out and meet her half-way, for you may be sure that if you fail to do so, not only will you bring about the certain death of your mistress, but you will reproach yourself so often for it that you too will want to die.â Parts of a Story. Since you force me to speak, I saw you lying on top of your lady, and as soon as I started to descend, you got up and sat in the spot where you are sitting now.â, âYou are certainly behaving like an idiot, for we havenât moved in the slightest since you climbed up the tree.â, âWhatâs the use of arguing about it?â said Pyrrhus. And so he replied as follows: âLook here, Lusca, I agree with everything you say, but on the other hand I know my master to be very wise and very shrewd, and now that he has entrusted me with the conduct of all his affairs, I strongly suspect that Lydia is doing this with his advice and encouragement, so as to put me to the test. The boys believed her, and began to do as the lady had told them, so that eventually she took Nicostratos aside, and said to him: And no sooner was it felled than the lady turned to Nicostratos, saying: Venerable ladies, it is my conviction that there is no enterprise, however perilous or difficult it may be, that those who are fervently in love will not have the courage to undertake. I havenât a single neighbour who doesnât gape and laugh at me for slaving away as I do; and yet you come back here twiddling your thumbs when you ought to be out working.â. Brother Cipolla (the Italian word for "onion") has been making money with a feather he claims came from the angel Gabriel. My only reason for saying this is that I know for a fact that you too have had a similar illusion. Pyrrhus, having swiftly clambered up, began to throw down some of the pears, and as he was doing so, he called out to Nicostratos saying: âFor shame, sir, what are you doing? And you, my lady, how can you be so brazen as to allow it in my presence? So that they could be together, they came to this arrangement: that since her husband got up early every morning to go to work or to go and look for a job, the young man should lie in wait until he saw him leaving the house; and as the district where she lived, which was called Avorio, was very out-of-the-way, as soon as the husband had left, he should go in to her. And so the poor deluded husband returned with her and her lover to the palace, within whose walls it thenceforth became easier for Pyrrhus and Lydia to meet, at regular intervals, for their common delight and pleasure. âAh, vile strumpet, what are you doing? I therefore appeal to you to lay aside your scruples, and grant her the solace she desires. Dioneo proposes the story topic for Day 7. âFor shame, sir, what are you doing? Hence it is quite obvious that whatever it is that is distorting our vision, it must emanate from the pear-tree. You heard what my wife said. So they conveyed her to the garden, Nicostratos supporting her on one side and Pyrrhus on the other, and set her down on a lawn at the foot of a beautiful pear-tree. Nicostratos was completely taken in, and although the pain had been quite excruciating and he was rending the air with his plaints, nevertheless, now that the tooth was out, it seemed to him that he felt much better. But being determined at all costs to acquaint him with her feelings, she summoned a maid of hers, named Lusca,(3) whom she was able to trust implicitly, and said to her: And though he screamed with pain, one of the women held him firmly down whilst the other, employing all the manual strength she possessed, extracted the tooth, which she promptly hid away, replacing it with another, horribly decayed, that she had been holding in her hand. About Us. Dioneo tells a story that takes place in Boccaccio's birthplace of Certaldo. The third demand presented a rather more difficult problem, but Love had greatly sharpened the ladyâs wits, and since she was no dullard in the first place, she had already thought of a way of fulfilling it. All the other wives have a jolly good time: they have two or three lovers apiece, and they whoop it up under their husbandsâ noses, whereas for poor little me, just because I am a respectable woman and find that sort of thing distasteful, thereâs nothing but misery and ill luck. Not to be deterred by the severity of his tone, Lusca replied: Nicostratos now felt that they must both be speaking the truth, and that they could never have brought themselves to do such a thing in his presence. But Pyrrhus, either failing or not desiring to notice, showed a total lack of interest in her love, which filled the ladyâs heart with unspeakable sorrow. The American edition from which this e-text was prepared is undated. These terms seemed harsh to Lusca and well nigh impossible to the lady. âI have indeed,â said Nicostratos, âand in fact, Iâve been meaning to ask them why they do it.â Iâve never known him to return at this hour before; perhaps he saw you coming in. Almost everyone else living in the house had left on the 15th and by the 25th, Hale was the last one left. She performs all three, in addition to which she makes love to Pyrrhus in her husbandâs presence, causing Nicostratos to believe that his eyes have been deceiving him. I have always thought you very sensible, but if you carry this stubbornness of yours any further, I shall begin to think youâre a blockhead. Besides, these surgeons are quite barbaric when it comes to extracting peopleâs teeth, and I couldnât possibly bear to see you suffering under the hands of anyone of them. Pyrrhus, who had witnessed the whole of this episode, said to himself: âThe lady has set my love on a firm and noble footing. So it seems to me that you should return to this man, who has such a curious way of proving his loyalty at my expense, and, choosing a suitable moment, make a full declaration of my passion and do everything you can to bring this affair to a happy conclusion. âSo be it,â said the good fellow, and away he went. See how quick she was to lock the door after I left, so that no one should come in and give her any trouble.â Do you think Iâm going to let you pawn my Sunday dress and my other little bits and pieces? While she was busy instructing and directing her husband in this fashion, Giannello, who had not fully gratified his desires that morning before the husband arrived, seeing that he couldnât do it in the way he wished, contrived to bring it off as best he could. âThe tub seems to be in pretty good shape, but you appear to have left the lees of the wine in it, for itâs coated all over with some hard substance or other that I canât even scrape off with my nails. Being a wealthy patrician, Nicostratos kept a large number of servants, hawks and hounds, and was passionately fond of hunting. It's good to say the right thing at the right time, he says, but saying it when your life's on the line is even better. But Love, that great comforter and excellent teacher of guile, bolstered her resolve, and through her maidservant she sent him word that she would carry out all of his demands to the letter, and without undue delay. NOTES: Neifileâs story was so much to their liking that the ladies could not be restrained from laughing and talking about it, even though the king, who had ordered Panftlo to narrate his own tale, called upon them several times to be silent. But being determined at all costs to acquaint him with her feelings, she summoned a maid of hers, named Lusca,(3) whom she was able to trust implicitly, and said to her: âLusca, the favours you have had from me in the past should have sufficed to earn me your loyalty and obedience, and hence you must take good care that nobody ever hears what I am about to tell you, apart from the person to whom I shall ask you to repeat it. All thatâs wrong is that you suffer from appallingly bad breath, and Iâve no idea why this should be, because you never used to have it. You go, girl. In short, with one exception I have nothing to complain about, and the exception is this: that my husband is much older than myself, and consequently I am ill provided with the one thing that gives young women their greatest pleasure. © 2021 Shmoop University Inc | All Rights Reserved | Privacy | Legal. âThatâs quite possible,â said Lydia. âPyrrhus, I long to have one or two of those pears. 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