Page 180 - SUMMARIES OF GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO’S DECAMEON : A Visionary Journey In 100 Stories And 100 Etchings By Petru Russu

The Provost and the Widow

This fourth tale from Day Eight is a delicious mix of satire and scandal,
wrapping hypocrisy in the robes of poetic justice. Monna Piccarda, the
clever widow, doesn’t just reject the advances of the aging rector, she
masterfully exposes the rot beneath his cassock.

The rector, puffed up with vanity and ambition, believes himself
irresistible despite his age and tiresome character. His pursuit of
Piccarda is persistent, almost desperate, reflecting not love but

entitled desire. Piccarda, dignified and sharp, plays along just
enough to bait the trap. Her response to his advances, phrased
as respect for spiritual and social boundaries, is already a subtle
rebuke.

But she goes further. With the help of her loyal brothers, Piccarda
concocts a perfect reversal: she allows the rector to think his
fantasies will come true, only to have him end up in bed with her

grotesque maid. The setup is pure theatrical irony, a man of the cloth
caught in earthly folly, disgraced before the very bishop he serves.

The moment of exposure is a spectacular downfall. What was meant

to be a secret seduction becomes a public spectacle. His shame
is not just personal but symbolic: the tale skewers the idea that
clerical authority gives license to desire, and shows how those who
exploit their position can be taken down by the very people they

underestimated.

FLUID, LAYERED COMPOSITIONS Piccarda doesn’t just defend her honor, she orchestrates a reckoning.
MIRROR THE UNFOLDING TRICKERY,
And in doing so, she joins Boccaccio’s gallery of women who balance
KEEPING THE FOCUS SHARP ON
THE WIDOW’S INTELLIGENCE. wit and virtue to reveal truth beneath farce.
DECAMERON 178 179