Page 82 - SUMMARIES OF GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO’S DECAMEON : A Visionary Journey In 100 Stories And 100 Etchings By Petru Russu

Alibech and Rustico the Monk

This lively and humorous novella tells the tale of Alibech, a curious and naïve
young woman, and Rustico, a wily monk, whose unlikely pairing becomes
a comical exploration of human desire and spiritual pretension. Themes of

innocence, temptation, and irony abound.

Alibech, a wealthy and sheltered young woman, decides to devote herself to
the service of God. Driven by her desire for piety, she leaves her home and
ventures into the desert, seeking to become a hermit. There, she encounters

Rustico, a monk living in solitude.

Rustico, struck by Alibech’s beauty and ignorance of the world, sees an

opportunity to exploit her innocence. When Alibech asks how she might best
serve God, Rustico devises an unorthodox answer. Claiming that she must
help “put the Devil back into Hell,” he engages her in a physical relationship
under the guise of spiritual practice.

Alibech, oblivious to the true nature of their activities, eagerly complies,
believing she is fulfilling her divine purpose. Her enthusiasm soon exhausts
Rustico, who struggles to keep up with her zealous “devil-vanquishing” efforts.

What begins as Rustico’s manipulation spirals into his own ironic torment.

Eventually, circumstances intervene, and Alibech is summoned back to
society. She returns to her family and weds Neerbale, a young man who
eagerly takes her as his wife. Alibech, now equipped with her peculiar
LIT WITH EROTIC ICONOGRAPHY
AND TANGLED DIVINE CHAOS, desert education, humorously declares to her friends that no service to God
THE ARTWORK SATIRIZES PIETY ever compared to putting the Devil in Hell. This witty and risqué tale mocks
GONE PLAYFUL, WHERE ALIBECH’S spiritual hypocrisy and human pretension while celebrating Alibech’s naïve
NAÏVE DEVOTION IGNITES A yet earnest pursuit of meaning. Rustico, far from embodying piety, becomes a
COMIC HELLFIRE OF BODILY TRUTH
WRAPPED IN SPIRITUAL ILLUSION. figure of comedic irony.
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