Page 98 - SUMMARIES OF GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO’S DECAMEON : A Visionary Journey In 100 Stories And 100 Etchings By Petru Russu

Simona and Pasquino : A Fatal Bloom of Innocence

In the heart of Florence, where love often blooms in the humblest corners,
Simona, a young spinner of wool, lives a modest life shaped by labor and longing.
Her days are spent winding thread, but her heart is wound around Pasquino, a

porter for a wool merchant. Their love is not adorned with riches or poetry, but it
is sincere quietly defiant of the social boundaries that separate them.

Pasquino, smitten and eager, finds excuses to visit Simona under the pretense
of checking her work. She, in turn, sighs over every skein he delivers, her

affection growing with each thread. Eventually, their mutual yearning
blossoms into a secret romance. They arrange a rendezvous in a secluded
garden, joined by two friends, Lagina and Stramba, for what is meant to be a

day of joy and intimacy.

Simona and Pasquino settle beneath a large sage bush, a symbol of healing
and wisdom. After their tender moments, Pasquino plucks a sage leaf and
rubs it against his teeth, a common practice to freshen the mouth before

eating. But fate, cruel and capricious, intervenes. Within moments, Pasquino
collapses, his body swelling and darkening. He dies in Simona’s arms, leaving
her stunned and heartbroken.

Stramba, witnessing the scene, accuses Simona of poisoning her lover. She is
dragged before a judge, her grief mistaken for guilt. To prove her innocence,
WITH ECHOES OF LATE ROMANTIC Simona returns to the garden and reenacts the moment: she plucks a sage
SURREALISM AND BOTANICAL
leaf and rubs it against her own teeth. Instantly, she too falls dead.
FATALISM, THIS ARTWORK
BLENDS GESTURAL FLUIDITY WITH
SYMBOLIC DECAY, RENDERING The judge, horrified, orders the sage bush uprooted. Beneath its roots, a
SIMONA AND PASQUINO’S venomous toad is discovered, its poison having seeped into the leaves. The
DOOMED LOVE AS A VISUAL
truth is revealed, but too late. Simona and Pasquino are buried together, their
ELEGY SHAPED BY POISON AND
PURITY. love sealed in death.
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