Women, Enjoyment, and the Defense of Virtue in Boccaccio’s Decameron

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xvi

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Valerio Ferme

   Pages 1-11

3. Galeotto: A Prologue by Way of the Proem

   • Valerio Ferme

   Pages 13-26

4. Contested Interlude: The Plague

   • Valerio Ferme

   Pages 27-46

5. Pampinea’s “Honorable” Leadership in the Decameron

   • Valerio Ferme

   Pages 47-86

6. Sicurano da Finale and Paganino da Mare: of Corsairs, Merchants, and Identity in the Late Middle Ages

   • Valerio Ferme

   Pages 87-107

7. Giletta of Narbonne: Chastity and Matrimony on the Day of Sexual Excesses

   • Valerio Ferme

   Pages 109-136

8. “Love and Death”: Male Authority and the Threat of Violence Under Filostrato’s Rule

   • Valerio Ferme

   Pages 137-160

9. Fiammetta’s Revolution: Honor, Love, and Marriage on Day V

   • Valerio Ferme

   Pages 161-189

10. Conclusion

    • Valerio Ferme

    Pages 191-196

11. Back Matter

    Pages 197-248

    PDF

Providing new ways of reading Boccaccio's masterpiece, Decameron , Ferme analyzes the dynamics between the women who rule the first half of the story. Peeling back the many narrative layers within and outside of the framework, this book unearths the complications and trickery surrounding gender and death in Boccaccio's world and culture.

• culture
• gender
• identity
• Late Middle Ages
• Middle Ages
• Narrative
• Ovid
• women

"Readers will enjoy Ferme's attention to the big picture of the Decameron, including his comprehensive interpretation of the book at all three of its narrative levels. Ferme highlights the tussle in the first half of the book between the authority of women and the limits put on them by society. He is particularly engaging as he explores the dialectic between enjoyment and virtue, transgression and decorum, played out in the form and content of Decameron storytelling." - F. Regina Psaki, The Giustina Family Professor of Italian Language and Literature, University of Oregon, USA

"Through an engaging and thorough analysis of the three main components of the Decameron (Proem, overarching story, and tales), Valerio Ferme redesigns the interpretation of Boccaccio's narrative patterns, while establishing a critical conversation with notable scholars (Branca, Almansi, Segre, Getto, Baratto). The collection of stories risks turning the book into a Galeotto, this study argues, when the salacious plots seem to produce inappropriate relations in the brigata, but the amicable conflicts between its men and women end up providing 'honest enjoyment' for women in love instead." - Alessandro Vettori, Professor of Italian and Comparative Literature, Rutgers University, USA

Valerie C. Ferme is the Chair of the Department of French & Italian at the University of Colorado, Boulder, USA.

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