Page 174 - SUMMARIES OF GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO’S DECAMEON : A Visionary Journey In 100 Stories And 100 Etchings By Petru Russu
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Gulfardo and Guasparruolo
Boccaccio opens Day Eight with a delicious twist: the hunter isn’t
the flirtatious woman or the oblivious husband, but the calm and
calculating Gulfardo, who turns lust, debt, and deception into one
seamless transaction. If Day Seven celebrated clever wives, Day Eight
swings the pendulum, giving men a moment of strategic glory, with an
edge of cynical humor.
In Milan, Gulfardo, a German soldier with a reputation for integrity,
crafts a plan to win the affections of Ambrosia, the alluring wife
of Gasparuolo Sagastraccio, a well-known merchant. Ambrosia,
despite her vows, agrees to a paid rendezvous, demanding money
for her favor. Gulfardo accepts, but not by dipping into his own
funds. Instead, he borrows the agreed sum from her own husband,
who, trusting Gulfardo implicitly, lends him the money with no
suspicion.
The affair takes place, brief, transactional, and shameless. But
Gulfardo isn’t finished. His brilliance comes in the public repayment:
he waits for Gasparuolo to be present and hands the money straight
to Ambrosia, saying, “I’ve repaid my debt.” Caught off guard, she
confirms the payment, failing to realize she’s admitted the affair.
Her husband, stunned, pieces together the implication too late: he
unwittingly sponsored his wife’s indiscretion.
The novella ends with neither confrontation nor justice, just
COLORFUL GEOMETRIC
CONTRASTS AND DYNAMIC humiliation, quiet defeat, and a sly chuckle from the reader. Gulfardo
MOVEMENT EVOKE THE doesn’t rage or punish; his revenge is precise, ironic, and irrevocable.
CALCULATED SCHEME, ENSURING
Ambrosia is exposed, Gasparuolo is disgraced, and Gulfardo walks
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL TENSION
REMAINS VIVID. away with both the deed and the last word.
DECAMERON 172 173
