Page 162 - THE DECAMERON: 100 Days on 100 Etchings by Petru Rusu
P. 162

“Lydia and Pyrrhus“



              First, a shout-out: this story is an antecedent for Chaucer’s               make Nicostratus believe he has a rotten tooth that needs

             “Merchant’s Tale.” Nicostratus lives in Greece with his                      extracting. Moreover, she convinces him that she should
              beautiful wife Lydia. Do they make any other kind of wife in                take the tooth out, because she loves him so much and
              Boccaccio’s world? Nicostratus is wealthy, old, and loves                   she’ll be gentler than a surgeon. Now that she’s fulfilled
              to hunt. He also has a beautiful young retainer named                       Pyrrhus’ requests, she just has to figure out how to make
              Pyrrhus, whom he loves and trusts. Lydia, of course, falls                  good on her promise. So she fakes illness and asks the two

              in love with Pyrrhus. But Pyrrhus is clueless. When Lydia                   men to lead her into the garden for some fresh air. Perhaps
              sends a note to him by way of her maid Lusca, Pyrrhus is                    a pear would make her feel better? Pyrrhus, who’s in on
              shocked and refuses her offers. Lydia swears she’ll die if                  the scheme, offers to fetch one from the tree. When he

              she can’t have Pyrrhus. She sends Lusca to do her worst.                    gets there, he begins to yell at Nicostratus in disgust: Get a
              Lusca bribes Pyrrhus with presents and tells him that he’s                  room! He pretends that he sees Nicostratus and Lydia doing
              an idiot if he doesn’t take Lydia as a lover. Pyrrhus has                   the wild thing right before his eyes. Nicostratus is appalled
              already secretly decided to do Lydia’s bidding, but he has to               and thinks that Pyrrhus has lost his mind. Pyrrhus convinces
              know if she’s really serious and worth the risk. So he asks                 Nicostratus that the tree has some pervy power to make

              her for three tokens: 1) Lydia must kill Nicostratus’ favorite              anyone in it think he sees people making love. Nicostratus
              sparrowhawk right in front of him; 2) She has to pull out                   has to try it out for himself. Pyrrhus denies any wrongdoing
              a tuft of his beard and send it to Pyrrhus; 3) Lydia has to                 and the lovers separate before the old man can climb down.

              pull out one of Nicostratus’ best teeth. Lydia isn’t sure how               Pyrrhus convinces Nicostratus that he and Lydia are too
              she’ll do all this, but her hormones are raging. She’ll think               virtuous for such hanky-panky. Lydia acts offended at the
              of something. She also decides to up the ante. She tells                    suggestion that she could do such a thing. Lydia demands
              Pyrrhus that they’ll make love right in front of Nicostratus.               that Pyrrhus chop down the offending tree (it also helps to
              Sure enough, Lydia knocks the brains out of Nicostratus’                    keep Nico from finding out their prank). Nicostratus is on

              favorite hunting bird. Her excuse? He spends more time                      his knees begging Lydia for forgiveness. Fine, she says, just
              with the “bird” than he does with her. Then she corners                     don’t ever go thinking I’m a slut again. And so the lovers
              her husband in the bedroom. He tugs playfully on her hair;                  set themselves up pretty well to continue their love affair in

              she rips out his beard. Finally, Lydia devises a scheme to                  total safety, without any interference from Nicostratus.










                                                                                                                                 “Lydia and Pyrrhus” retrieved from publicly source: shmoop
     DECAMERON      162                                                                                    <https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/decameron/summary/seventh-day-ninth-story>
   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167