Page 98 - THE DECAMERON: 100 Days on 100 Etchings by Petru Rusu
P. 98
“Mazzeo the Doctor“
Once again, we have an old man, Mazzeo Della Montagna, has to backtrack to make the story work. Earlier in the
who marries a young, beautiful woman. He’s a respected week, two miserly young men had moved in down the street.
doctor and showers his wife with worldly goods. But And like most young men, they were a bit short on home
there’s one problem: she feels neglected in bed. Just like furnishings. They had seen the trunk sitting by the road, so
Messer Ricciardo, husband of Bartolomea (II.10), Mazzeo they planned on stealing it for their living room. Ruggieri’s
also makes his wife observe holy days. So the young wife already hidden inside the trunk by the time the young men
goes out and finds someone else who can do the job. His get around to taking it. They deposit the trunk outside their
name is Ruggieri d’Aieroli. Ruggieri is a rogue. Well, actually, wives’ bedroom and leave it there. The potion wears off and
he’s a criminal. But the lady likes him anyway. So with the Ruggieri wakes up. He has no idea where he is and winds up
help of her maid, they hook up. The lady quickly sees that tipping the trunk over with a spectacular crash. The women
Ruggieri really is a thug and has to change his ways. She freak out and scream that there are burglars in the house. In
bribes him with money. Meanwhile, the doctor’s taken a short, Ruggieri’s taken by the young men to the magistrate
man with a gangrenous leg into surgery. He sends off a and tortured into a confession. Now he’s set to hang. When
prescription for a special drug that will keep him asleep the lady hears the news that her lover isn’t actually dead,
during his procedure. He puts this drug in his house. The she can’t understand it. Then her husband returns and asks
doc then has to make a house call to another town because about his drug. Now the lady understands what happened.
of mass casualties from a fight. His wife takes advantage of When the true owner of the trunk was heard fighting with
his absence and invites Ruggieri over for some fun. As he the carpenter about how he’d sold it to the two young men,
waits in the house for all the servants to go to bed, Ruggieri the lady and her maid figure out how Ruggieri made his
spies the drug and decides it would be good to drink. When journey. Now the lady has to keep Ruggieri from hanging.
the wife finally appears, Ruggieri is passed out. She tries She coaxes her maid into pretending that Ruggieri was in the
to wake him, but he looks like a corpse. Now she has a house the night before to make love to her (the maid). After
problem: what to do with the body? Her maid has a solution, speaking with Ruggieri and allowing the judge in the case
as maids often do: stuff him inside a trunk standing outside to make “a little snack of her,” the maid manages to get the
the neighbor carpenter’s house. Also, they should stab truth out, save Ruggieri and see to it that the young men
him two or three times just to make it look good. He was are fined. Dioneo says that the love between Ruggieri and
a rogue, after all. The lady says yes to the trunk, no to the the lady became stronger than ever, just as he would like to
stabbing. So they drag him down and stuff him in. Dioneo have happen to him, minus the trunk-stuffing.
“Mazzeo the Doctor” retrieved from publicly source: shmoop
DECAMERON 98 <https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/decameron/summary/fourth-day-tenth-story>
