Page 68 - SUMMARIES OF GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO’S DECAMEON : A Visionary Journey In 100 Stories And 100 Etchings By Petru Russu

The Gentlewoman and the Confessor

In Florence, a city of elegance and intrigue, a noblewoman finds

herself trapped in a marriage to a wealthy but boorish wool merchant
whose touch she avoids and whose status she quietly resents. Though
surrounded by luxury, she feels emotionally starved, longing for the
company of a man whose refinement matches her own. Her heart turns
toward a handsome Florentine nobleman, and her desire for him grows

so intense that she begins to lose sleep. Yet she is too discreet to involve
servants or friends in her pursuit. Instead, she devises a plan that is as
bold as it is brilliant.

She approaches a Franciscan friar, portly, pious, and utterly unsuspecting,

under the guise of confession. With feigned innocence and trembling voice,
she tells him that the nobleman has been harassing her, threatening her virtue,
and sending her unwanted gifts. She begs the friar to intervene, claiming she

fears for her reputation and wishes only to remain pure. The friar, flattered by
her trust and moved by her apparent piety, agrees to help. He delivers stern
warnings to the nobleman, who quickly realizes the woman’s true intentions.
Their flirtation begins, with the friar unknowingly acting as their go-between,
ferrying messages and gifts under the illusion of moral duty.

When the woman’s husband leaves town on business, she returns to the
friar with another tale of woe: the nobleman has appeared at her window
WITH A CARNIVAL OF COURTLY
and seen her unclothed. The friar, scandalized, rushes to chastise the man
SYMBOLS AND SATIRICAL
FIGURATION, THE ARTWORK again, but the nobleman understands the signal. The next morning, he
PARODIES SANCTITY AND is in the woman’s arms, and the friar remains blissfully unaware that he
SEDUCTION, CASTING THE FRIAR
has orchestrated their union. The lovers laugh at the friar’s gullibility and
AS AN UNWITTING STAGEHAND IN
the husband’s absence, and soon they find more discreet ways to meet,
THE GENTLEWOMAN’S MASTERFUL
PLAY OF DESIRE AND DECEPTION. leaving the friar behind as a relic of their clever ruse.
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