Page 154 - SUMMARIES OF GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO’S DECAMEON : A Visionary Journey In 100 Stories And 100 Etchings By Petru Russu
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Peronella: The Lover in the Barre
Peronella, a vivacious and sly woman from Naples, is home alone with
her lover when her husband unexpectedly returns from work, an event
that threatens to expose her carefully guarded affair. Without missing
a beat, she ushers her lover into a large brewing tun kept in their
house and bolts the door.
Her husband, cheery and proud, announces that he has sold the old
tun to a buyer and begins to describe the deal. Peronella, never one
to be outwitted, immediately retorts that she’s already sold it that
very morning to a man who is, at that very moment, inside the tun
inspecting it. She plays the scene with perfect conviction, convincing
her husband that he’s mistaken.
The lover, quickly grasping the script, emerges as “the buyer” and
proclaims that the tun is in good condition but needs a thorough cleaning
before the purchase is complete. Without hesitation, Peronella urges her
husband to scrub it properly. He complies, and with zeal, cleaning out the
very barrel where his wife’s affair had just taken refuge.
The comedy culminates with the husband hauling the tun to the “buyer’s”
house, unaware that he’s facilitating the continuation of the affair he
RENDERED IN A SIGNATURE
ETCHING STYLE, BOLDLY thought he’d interrupted. It’s a moment rich with irony, where the
GEOMETRIC, DENSELY LAYERED, cheating wife orchestrates her lover’s escape and future visits, while her
AND RHYTHMICALLY SATIRICAL,
clueless husband believes himself to be a savvy tradesman.
‘PERONELLA: THE LOVER IN THE
BARRE’ UNFOLDS AS A VIBRANT
CHOREOGRAPHY OF CUNNING, This novella is Boccaccio at his cheekiest, celebrating quick thinking,
CONCEALMENT, AND COMIC theatrical timing, and the subtle satire of marital roles. Peronella
TENSION, TRANSFORMING
doesn’t just protect her secret; she commands the stage, reshaping
DOMESTIC DECEPTION INTO
VISUAL THEATRE. reality with charm and audacity.
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