Page 46 - THE DECAMERON: 100 Days on 100 Etchings by Petru Rusu
P. 46
“Madame Beritola“
A man called Arrighetto Capece governed the island daughter, Spina, comes home a widow and falls in love
of Sicily during the reign of Manfred. Arrighetto has a with Giannotto. The feeling’s mutual. But they get a little
beautiful wife named Madame Beritola and enjoyed the careless about their “meetings,” and pretty soon they’re
high regard of King Manfred. But all good things come to caught by Currado and his wife. Daddy’s upset, to say the
an end. Manfred’s killed by Charles I and Arrighetto tries least. He’s all for killing them both in the worst possible
to flee the island ahead of the conquering forces. He’s way, but his good wife dissuades him. She convinces
captured and handed over to King Charles. Meanwhile, a Currado to banish them to the dungeon instead. So things
pregnant Beritola has to flee with her young son. A storm stand for a year, with the two lovers languishing away in
blows up and puts them off course. They wind up on the jail. Then Fortune’s wheel spins again, and the political
island of Ponza. Beritola leaves her sons on the beach and balance changes. Sicily is taken out of Charles I’s control.
finds a private place to cry her eyes out over her fate. She When Giannotto hears about this in prison, he tells his
does this every day. But one day, a pirate ship appears jailer who he really is. The jailer passes on the info to
while she’s off by herself. When she returns, her sons Currado. Currado realizes that Giannotto must really be
are gone and she finds herself alone on the island. She Madame Beritola’s son, Giusfredi. After speaking with
makes friends with a doe that has given birth to two little both Giannotto and Beritola, he knows the truth and has a
bucks. Since Beritola still has breast milk from her own plan. He offers Spina’s hand in marriage to Giannotto and
recent pregnancy, she begins to feed the deer from her arranges for them to get married in prison. Currado keeps
own breasts. This continues for some time, until Beritola everything a secret from the rest of the family, until the
has become quite wild from all the weeping and living on youngsters can gain some weight and look a little more
a diet of grass and water. This is called an “identity crisis.” presentable in front of the ladies. When Currado presents
Months later, Currado of Malaspina and his wife anchor the couple to Beritola and his wife, Beritola eventually
in the bay of the island and discover Beritola in the cave understands that the young man is her lost son, Giusfredi.
with her doe and baby bucks. They convince her to come She does what any refined lady would do - she passes
away with them to a place where she isn’t known, and the out. Giannotto, now called Giusfredi, asks Currado to send
deer family goes with them. Beritola stays with Currado’s someone to fetch his younger brother and the nurse. He
wife as her “maid of honor” and the scene shifts to Genoa, also requests that an emissary be sent to Sicily to find out
where Beritola’s sons have been left with their nurse to about his father. Back in Genoa, the emissaries explain to
be slaves in the house of Guasparrino d’Oria. The nurse Guasparrino just who he’d been mistreating all those years.
changes the boys’ names so that they’ll be safe from He’s pretty appalled, because he knows how important
political backlash, and they wait patiently for their luck Arrighetto is in the new political climate. He makes amends
to change. But the older boy, now called Giannotto, runs to the younger son, named The Outcast, by giving him his
away from servitude when he turns 16 and becomes an 11-year-old daughter for a bride. Ick. Anyway, they all go to
accomplished seaman. And as fate is a funny thing, he Currado’s estate and there’s rejoicing and feasting. During
winds up in the service of Currado Malaspina on the very the feast, the emissary to Sicily comes back with good
same estate as his lost mother. Giannotto learns that his news: Arrighetto has been restored to his former glory and
father’s not dead at all, but has been left to rot in the is sending his people to collect up the family. After more
dungeons of King Charles I. And though the young man days of feasting, Madame Beritola and her family get on a
sees his mother often, neither of them recognizes the ship and sail for Sicily. And in the end they manage to live
other. Now we add a love story to this drama: Currado’s happily ever after. She thinks, anyway.
“Madame Beritola” Retrieved from publicly source: shmoop
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