Page 154 - THE DECAMERON: 100 Days on 100 Etchings by Petru Rusu
P. 154
“A Jealous Husband, His Wife and Her Lover“
In Rimini, there was a man who was so jealous of his wife her that her soul will be lost if she doesn’t desist. He’ll
that he didn’t even allow her to stand at the window or send her someone to give her spiritual guidance and pray
look out the door. Although she’d done nothing to provoke for her. She protests that her husband is wicked jealous
jealousy, she now decided to give him a good reason for and would suspect something if he did so, but the “priest”
jealousy. But it’s not like she could go to a bar and pick up promises to be discreet. The jealous husband is now fit to
a guy, so she has to look a little closer to home. She knows be tied. He decides to wait at the front door all night if he
that there’s a handsome young man, Filippo, who lives has to in order to catch this sneaky priest. Of course, this
next door. She sets out to find a little crack in the walls gives his wife the opening she’s been looking for. She tells
between their houses so she can talk to him. Pretty soon, Filippo the whole story and says they can now spend the
she finds a crack conveniently leading to Filippo’s bedroom. night together if he comes in through the window. In the
They manage to carry on pretty nicely for some time, but morning, the jealous husband feels awful from staying up
all they can do is touch hands through the opening in the all night. He sends a servant dressed up like a confessor
wall. At Christmas, the wife asks her husband’s permission to his wife. She tells him that the priest lover didn’t show
to go to the local church to confess her sins, like every up last night and that she’ll forget about him if this keeps
other Christian. He immediately becomes suspicious: what up. The husband feels triumphant and determined to keep
sins could she have? He only allows her to go to their little watch until his wife forgets about her lover. This, of course,
chapel and then she has to come straight back home, so leads to many nights of fun for his wife and Filippo. When
what trouble could she possibly get into? The wife realizes the husband can’t take it anymore, he blows up and reveals
that this is a trap, but she’s going to work it into her plans. his deception to his wife. She calls him on his stupidity
Her husband gets to the chapel before her and convinces and tells him that she always knew he was the priest who
the chaplain to let him play priest for a morning. When she confessed her on Christmas day. Didn’t she say she was in
arrives, the usual chaplain sends in her disguised husband love with a priest (which he was pretending to be)? Didn’t
to hear her confession. She pretends not to recognize she say that all doors opened to him and that she slept
him and then hits him with his worst nightmare. She tells with him every night (both true for him)? And when he was
him she’s in love with a priest who sleeps with her every keeping watch at the door, didn’t she tell the “confessor”
night. This priest, she claims, has magical powers to that the priest hadn’t been with her? Busted. The husband
open all the locks in the house and cast a sleeping spell feels like a complete ass and decides that his wife is both
on her husband. Her disguised husband is appalled and wise and virtuous, but it’s too late. Now that she’s given
tells her she must stop having sex with this priest. The free rein, she lets Filippo in through the front door so that
wife objects: she loves him too much! The “priest” tells they can spend more time together.
“A Jealous Husband, His Wife and Her Lover” retrieved from publicly source: shmoop
DECAMERON 154 <https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/decameron/summary/seventh-day-fifth-story>
