Page 136 - THE DECAMERON: 100 Days on 100 Etchings by Petru Rusu
P. 136
“Madonna Filippa“
There was a law in Prato that sentenced any woman supposed to be equal before the law and this particular
caught in the act of adultery to be burned alive. law only applies to women. She then asks a favor of the
Unfortunately for the beautiful and intelligent Madonna magistrate: ask my husband if I’ve ever denied my body
Filippa, she’s caught in the act by her husband, Rinaldo. to him. Rinaldo readily admits that he gets his fill. Filippa
He immediately denounces her to the authorities. Though takes the opening. What’s she to do, then, with all the
her friends and family beg her to lie about the affair, surplus? Is she supposed to waste it? The court erupts
Filippa won’t do it. She’s ennobled by love and stuff. into laughter and agrees with Filippa’s arguments. Not
So she goes before the chief magistrate and tells him only does Filippa beat the charge and the punishment, but
straight up that she was indeed caught by her husband. the law’s amended to apply only to unfaithful wives who
But she insists the law’s invalid. Men and women are take money for their services.
“Madonna Filippa” retrieved from publicly source: shmoop
DECAMERON 136 <https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/decameron/summary/sixth-day-seventh-story>
