Page 116 - THE DECAMERON: 100 Days on 100 Etchings by Petru Rusu
P. 116
“Nastagio degli Oneste“
Nastagio, a nobleman, falls in love with the daughter of and the woman are already dead. Nastagio was witnessing
Paolo Traversari. She’s way out of his league. She’s also the eternal punishment of two tormented souls. The knight
a bit of a shrew and very unfriendly to him (makes you (called Guido) had killed himself in despair when the lady
wonder how he fell in love with her). Nastagio’s a mess. showed him extreme cruelty. And the lady was thrilled that
Sometimes he feels like killing himself. Sometimes he he’d died but then died herself immediately after. So Guido
feels like trying harder to win her. But his attempts aren’t has to chase her and kill her with the same knife that he
working and he’s spending all his money. His friends advise used to kill himself and then rip her cold, cold heart from
him to leave Ravenna before it’s too late. So he takes his her body to feed to the dogs. Then the lady gets up and
belongings and sets up camp about three miles outside they do it all over again. It happens every Friday at the
of Ravenna. He does okay out there and his friends come same time. Guido does his thing, and Nastagio’s completely
to visit. And then something really strange happens. As and utterly freaked out. But not so freaked out that he can’t
he’s walking through the forest, he sees a naked woman see that he could make this experience work in his favor.
running towards him, being chased by dogs. She’s a total Nastagio gets some help from his friends and family to
mess, with bad hair and bloody wounds on her body from bring Paolo Traversari and his stuck-up daughter out to this
running naked through the forest and being bitten by angry supernatural part of the woods. He has a banquet prepared
pooches. Also, there’s a very angry knight pursuing her. and tables set up so they can see the drama playing
He threatens the naked woman with a knife (read into that out. Boy, does this tactic work. Nastagio’s cruel beloved
what you will). Nastagio takes up a branch to defend her, gets the message and quickly succumbs to his attentions
but the knight tells him to keep out of it. Nastagio says and marries him right away. Even better, all the ladies
he won’t stand by while a woman is torn to pieces, and of Ravenna are so frightened by this spectacle that they
shame on him. A big scary knight acting so ungallantly. become, according to Filomena, “more tractable to men’s
Then the knight reveals something unexpected: both he pleasures” than ever before.
“Nastagio degli Oneste” retrieved from publicly source: shmoop
DECAMERON 116 <https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/decameron/summary/fifth-day-eighth-story>
