Dedication of the Decameron to Women - Essay Example

Boccassio’s Tales Question one: Why are Ghismunda and Madonna Filippa considered to be two of Boccacio’s greatest characters? Compare and contrast their differing problems in choosing whom they wish to love. In what ways are they right or wrong in the choices they make? Why does Bocaccio dedicate the “Decameron” to women? How does this dedication relate to his theme of compassion at the beginning of the book? Explain and quote directly from the “Decameron” Ghismunda and Madonna Filippa are considered to be Boccaccio’s greatest characters because they are the characters who stand up for themselves boldly, They go against the societal norms and defy odds so as to stand for what they believe in. Also, their stories captivate people such that for instance the tale of Ghismunda and Tancredi is translated into so many languages like Latin severally and Italian among others because it appeals to people’s emotions greatly. These two stories are similar in a number of ways. Both Ghismunda and Madonna Filippa stand up for themselves. Nobody would stand up for them and they both brave up and speak up to defend themselves. Moreover, they both stand up to defend their love. Filippa Madonna is accused of adultery and she is encouraged to plead innocent but she boldly pleads guilty and even goes ahead to speak against the cruelty that the society has on women. She sees it unfair for all the blame to be put on the woman yet even the man in adultery and the husband of the adulterer could be at fault. She explains that, “…Sir, it is true that Rinaldo is my husband, and that last night he found me in Lazzarinos arms, in which I enjoy myself. And because of the good and perfect love I have for him, many times I have done this, which I would never deny. But as I am certain that you know, the laws must be fair and made with the agreement of those who are affected by them. In this case it is not so, since this law affects only the unfortunate women, who much better than men could satisfy many. And besides this, no woman agreed when the law was made, and no woman was ever consulted. Therefore, we could justly define this law as unfair.” “…Is it not much better to serve a gentle man who loves more than himself than let it wither or go waste?” On the other hand, Ghismunda stands up to her father for her right as a woman and states all the reasons she actually took matters to her hands and found for herself a lover. She also gives her reasons for choosing the man she chose despite the father’s seemingly displeasure for choosing a man below her social class. She says, “… it is most true that I have loved, and do still love, Guiscard; and whilst I live, which will not be long, shall continue to love him; and if such a thing as love be after death, I shall never cease to love”. However, the two were in different circumstances. Filippa Madonna is charged with adultery yet Ghismunda’s major fault as it is, is that she chose a lover who was below her social class. Tancredi illustrates this when he says, “…you had made choice of a person more suitable to your own quality; but this Guiscard is one of the very meanest persons about my court.” The wrong choice made by Ghismunda was to kill herself. Suicide is never a solution but rather makes things worse. Filippa’s decision to commit adultery and openly admit to it without any remorse was also a wrong choice even though she was not happy with her marriage. Nevertheless, it was a brave act that caused the laws to be appended for the good of many other women. Boccaccio dedicates the Decameron to women because it is a series of tales containing numerous female characters who advocate for themselves and for others. Such like women are Filippa Madona and Ghismunda. In many pieces of writing, women have been the objects of analysis but in this case, Boccaccio identifies with them and as much as it has been argued that these tales do not entirely apply in the days of Boccaccio, it does apply a lot to our current world. This is in the light of woman empowerment and gender equality. All this is done with compassion for all humanity. At the beginning of the book, Boccacio states that “ To have compassion for those who suffer is a human quality that everyone should possess, especially those who have required comfort themselves in the past and have managed to find it in others. (Boccaccio 1) ” This relates with everything since Boccaccio had compassion for women since the society has been cruel on them and that is reason why he even dedicates such a liberating book to them.  Question two: A pivotal scene in the story of Tancredi and Ghismunda is the intense confrontation between father and daughter (prince and princess) over her loe affair with Guiscardo. Using direct quotes, anallyze this conflict I detail and from both their points of view. Why does she love Guiscardo? Why does Tancredi have him murdered? What was the point of having Guiscardo’s heart cut from his body and presented to Ghismunda/ In your opinion, is there anything that Ghismunda could have done to prevent this tragedy? Explain in detail and quote directly from Bondanella’s translation in your essay. The confrontation of Ghismunda and Tancredi over Ghismunda’s love affair with Guiscardo is a very emotional scene. Ghismunda is in love with Guicardo and her father thinks she only had an affair with Guiscardo because she was acting out of her foolishness in defying the societal norms. He says, “…and on the other, the justest vengeance for the great folly you have committed.” Ghismanda loved him because he of his worth even though he was poor and of an ignoble background. She answers her father, “…induced, not so much by female frailty, as by his superior worth, and the little care you took to marry me again.” She even implies that he had a heart that deserved a golden cup. She says, “…such a heart as this requires no worse a sepulcher than one of gold”, referring to her lover’s heart. Tancredi kills Guiscardo because he felt that he disrespected him by choosing to be his daughter’s secret lover and doing the despicable things he did with his daughter in his presence, though in hiding. He says, “Guiscardo, you have ill requited my kindness towards you, by this outrage and shame which you have bought upon me, and of which this very day I have been an eye-witness.” It is also because he felt that her daughter’s lover was snatching her affection for him. “…intending to wean her affection from her lover by taking him off, he gave orders [...] to strangle him privately in the night…” However, Ghismanda thinks that the father killed her lover just out of cruelty. She says, “Cursed be the cruelty of him…”Moreover, it looks like Tancredi says that he sent her daughter the heart of her dead lover as a gift to comfort her because he is the person she cared about most. This may be true but I feel like he actually did it to punish her daughter. Making her see the heart of her dead lover gives her grief and we can see that she actually sheds a lot of tears. Probably, it was also to affirm to her daughter that actually Guiscardo was really dead. There is a way in which Ghismanda could have prevented this tragedy. After becoming a widow in her first marriage, she went back to her father’s house and in this case, as earlier stated, the father was not concerned with marrying her. She could have told the father that she had gotten someone, even though it was still the low class Guiscardo. Probably the father would have expressed his displeasure with his choice and she could have had an opportunity to stand up to him. Just maybe things would not have resulted in deaths of both of the two lovers. She could have chosen to walk in the light instead of in secrecy as she states, “…Love and Fortune, who showed me a very secret way by which, unperceived by any one, I attained my wishes…” I also feel that she could have talked over the marriage issue with the father, like two adults. The father could have started to see that the daughter still had youthful passions that needed to be satisfied unlike him as she clearly states, “as you are made of flesh and blood, your daughter was not stone or iron, and you should have remembered,- though now you are old, what is the nature and force of youthful passions”. Work Cited Bondanella, Julia C, and Mark Musa. The Italian Renaissance Reader. New York: New American Library, 1987. Print. Read More