Page 85 - THE DECAMERON: 100 Days on 100 Etchings by Petru Rusu

The Fourth Day

The Third Novell

STORYTELLER: LAURETTA
ARTWORK: THE DECAMERON OF PETRU RUSU
THE FOURTH DAY, THE THIRD NOVELL
1985 HAND COLORED ETCHING
AQUATINTA AQUAFORTE 21X29 CM | 8½X11½ IN

Since Filostrato is in Goth mode,

he’s not amused by Pampinea’s
jokiness. He begs Lauretta to stick
to the theme and be as miserable as
possible in her story. Lauretta tells

Filostrato that he’s being unkind to
lovers, since all he cares about is
killing them off in his stories. But
since Lauretta has a little bit of a

wicked streak, she promises to obey.
Lauretta begins with a discussion
on vices in general and anger in
particular. Anger’s bad in a man,

she says, but worse in a woman.
Because, you know, women have
very little intellect to counteract
passionate impulses. The laws of

thermodynamics are also involved:
fire catches quicker on things that
are lightweight and soft. Lauretta
will therefore tell this next story to

prove that a woman who’s mild and
pleasing makes everything better
than a woman who’s willful and
passionate.

85