Themes & Motifs Module: Deception

Deception, or Ingegno, similar to Wit is a way for the characters of the stories to fool other characters or escape harm. Deception appears in two forms in the Decameron. The first is deception through disguise. Here, costumes are used to protray new identities with the purpose of achieving a goal, often monetary or sexual. This could be a woman using costume to appear richer, or poorer, or even as a man. The second form of deception is through the use of language. Deception is different from wit in the sense that deception by definition is telling a story or occurance that is simply not true. Similar to wit, deception is an often succesful means of achieving an end used by all types of characters in the Novellas. Women decieve men to be with their lovers, men decieve clergy to receive Sainthood, clergy deceive women to get them into bed.

Main: Themes & Motifs: Module: Deception


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Deception through disguise
Deception through language

See also Wit: story, Wit: simple words

Men deceiving: men, women, clergy
Women deceiving: men, clergy
Clergy deceiving: men, women, clergy