Page 156 - THE DECAMERON: 100 Days on 100 Etchings by Petru Rusu
P. 156
“Madonna Isabella“
Madonna Isabella is of course a beautiful noblewoman Isabella’s husband. Isabella then tells her husband a
who’s married to a pretty great rich guy. But she gets whopper of a story, loudly enough so that Leonetto can
tired of all that and decides to fall in love with Leonetto, hear and act accordingly. She explains that a young
a young man of inferior social standing. On the other side man came rushing into the house with Lambertuccio
of things, an influential gentleman called Lambertuccio breathing fire at his heels. The young man begged her to
has got it bad for Isabella. She thinks he’s just annoying. save him and so she hid him somewhere in her chamber.
When Lambertuccio realizes that Isabella won’t have him, Isabella’s husband praises her for doing the right thing;
he threatens to make her life difficult. So Isabella gives it wouldn’t have been nice to have someone murdered in
in and does whatever Lambertuccio asks of her. When their own house. Her husband coaxes Leonetto out of his
the summer comes, Isabella heads out to her country hiding place and asks what happened between himself
villa and invites Leonetto to visit her while her husband’s and Lambertuccio. Taking his example from his lover,
away. Lambertuccio invites himself as well. Isabella hides Leonetto explains that he’d never met Lambertuccio
Leonetto behind her bed and begs him to stay quiet until in his life, but that the man began chasing him with a
she can smuggle him out. Then she lets Lambertuccio drawn dagger for no reason. Isabella’s husband, being
in. Her husband comes home. But Isabella’s a quick a man of honor, escorts Leonetto all the way back to
thinker and she tells Lambertuccio to run downstairs with his own house, just to be sure he’s safe. And Leonetto,
his dagger drawn, screaming, “I’ll catch you yet!” Then, on instruction from Isabella, tells Lambertuccio what
he’s to leap into his saddle and ride away immediately. happened, so that Isabella’s husband never did find out
Lambertuccio does this, much to the amazement of the truth about that night.
“Madonna Isabella” retrieved from publicly source: shmoop
DECAMERON 156 <https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/decameron/summary/seventh-day-sixth-story>
