Page 148 - THE DECAMERON: 100 Days on 100 Etchings by Petru Rusu
P. 148
“Peronella“
Peronella, a beautiful and charming woman, lives with He tells her to relax: it’s a saint’s feast day so there’s no
her poor husband in a district of Naples. Every day, work. However, he’s sold the empty tub to the man he
Peronella’s husband goes off to find work and Peronella brought with him. Peronella does some quick thinking and
stays home to spin wool. Pretty soon, she catches the tells her husband that she’s already sold it for even more.
eye of a young gentleman called Giannello. They figure The man’s in there now inspecting it. Peronella’s husband
out that once her husband leaves for the day, they have is pleased and goes to check it out. Giannello plays
plenty of time to play around before he returns. Except along, even saying that the tub needs a good cleaning
for one day, when Peronella’s husband returns early and before he buys it. The husband is glad to oblige for such
finds the door to the house locked. What a virtuous wife, a good price so he lowers himself into the tub and begins
he thinks. She’s locked the door behind me to keep the scraping away the leftover wine. Giannello sees his
naughty men out. Inside, Peronella hears her husband final opportunity to get what he really came for. While
knock on the door and gives herself up for lost. She hides Peronella is leaning over the edge of the tub and giving
Giannello in an empty “tub” (or wine barrel) and goes to instructions to her husband, Giannello, uh, completes
answer the door. When she sees her husband returned his task like a wild stallion with a mare, according to
so early from work, she gives him a dressing down: how Filostrato. And just in time, too, before the husband
could she have married such a lazybones? How are they clambers back out of the tub. So Giannello winds up with
going to put food on the table? the “embraces” of his lover and a tub in the bargain.
“Peronella” retrieved from publicly source: shmoop
DECAMERON 148 <https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/decameron/summary/seventh-day-second-story>
