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Boccaccio states in his Introduction that women at home are the Decameron's intended audience. Just as Prince Gallehault brought relief to Queen Guinevere, so too does Boccaccio aim to alleviate the suffering of housewives by relating tales of merriment and escapism. But for whatever reason, Boccaccio does not wish for his narrative framework to sever its ties to reality completely. Lauretta serves as the bond between the brigata's stories and the harsh realities of 14th-century Italy. She counters Pampinea's proto-feminism with misogyny. The tenth story exemplifies this concept, for it finds Lauretta relating a tale involving a woman, Madonna Caccianemico, treated as an object which one man discards, and another man claims. This focus upon the rights of men over women, representative of the traditional order of family and business, serves as Lauretta's rallying point.
- Male jealousy: Jealousy develops when an individual covets the possession of another, and feels as though it should belong to him. Lauretta's tales see men desiring women and power. This impulse suggests that there is no question in the men's minds regarding the subservient nature of women. This belief structure was firmly in place during the time frame of the Decameron. By not relenting on this issue, Lauretta brings the brigata out of their garden of delights and back into the world of the merchant, the church, and the Plague.
- Exemplary Tales:
- Day Three, Eighth Tale (Ferondo, Purgatory, and the Abbott)
- Day Four, Third Tale (Misfortune among three couples on Crete)
- Day Five, Seventh Tale (Teodoro's ruin and subsequent fortune)
- Day Six, Third Tale (Monna Nonna's spurning of the Bishop)
- Day Seven, Fourth Tale (Tofano, Monna Ghita, and the well)
- Day Eight, Ninth Tale (Master Simone and the secret society)
- Day Ten, Fourth Tale (Messer Gentile's return of a wife and child)
- The Law: To drive home the point that women lie beneath men within the societal order, Lauretta also comes back to Law and its relationship to women. The third story from the fourth day is the most telling of Lauretta's ideas. Maddalena, "thought that by placating [the Duke's] desires she would be able to rescue her sister." The Duke embodies the law, and Maddalena sees nothing unusual or unsavory about sleeping with the representative of the law to achieve her own ends.
- Exemplary Tales:
(J. Q.)
Return to the Lauretta OV
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