Page 178 - SUMMARIES OF GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO’S DECAMEON : A Visionary Journey In 100 Stories And 100 Etchings By Petru Russu

Calandrino and the Heliotrope
PLAYFUL ABSTRACTION AND
RHYTHMIC DISTORTIONS CAPTURE
THE ESCALATING ABSURDITY
OF CALANDRINO’S MISGUIDED
PURSUIT.
DECAMERON 176
Set in a Florence teeming with eccentrics, it centers on a man so trusting,
so hungry for wonder, that his entire perception of reality crumbles under
the weight of an imaginary rock.
Calandrino, a painter of modest intellect and grand delusions, becomes
the butt of a carefully orchestrated prank. His companions Bruno and
Buffalmacco, both sharper in wit and fonder of mischief, manipulate him
into believing that the legendary heliotrope stone, capable of granting
invisibility, is buried along the banks of the Mugnone River. Maso del
Saggio, whose name itself suggests jest and sagacity, initiates the illusion
with talk of enchanted lands and absurd wonders, spinning tales that
would tempt any dreamer. Calandrino, dazzled and determined, takes the
bait.
What follows is an absurd treasure hunt where Calandrino joyously fills his
sack with plain stones, each one a hopeful vessel of invisibility. He truly
believes he’s disappeared, so deeply that he wanders home convinced
that the world has lost sight of him. His behavior becomes erratic and
intrusive, almost feral in its foolishness. But the illusion shatters with
domestic reality: his wife scolds him for dragging stones into the house,
and Calandrino responds with anger, blaming her for ‘seeing’ him, thereby
breaking the supposed spell.
The real gut punch comes when Bruno and Buffalmacco reveal the joke,
laughing at his expense while Calandrino’s pride crumbles. It’s a moment
both comic and tragic, highlighting how credulity can be both a weakness
and a form of innocence. Boccaccio isn’t just mocking Calandrino, he’s
subtly asking the reader to consider the gap between fantasy and reason,
and the human tendency to believe what we wish to be true.
177