giovanni boccaccio tales from the decameron

Socially their role was to rear the children and take care of the home while their husbands worked. A respectable women was not known to wander around on her own male supervision was required in public and when traveling. Women were mostly limited to their homes. While it was not socially acceptable to advise your husband publicly, men were known to follow advice offered by their wives privately. This appreciation manifested in the influential counsel women provided their husbands. Roman husbands generally did greatly appreciate the institution of marriage and their wives. In Rome, women were regarded as property of their fathers until they were married off to their husbands. The role of women in society, with respect to men, in both these cities often paralleled one another. Much of the history recorded during antiquity revolves around the cultural and economic centers of Rome and Athens. While this shift in time marked many changes, one notable difference can be identified in the societal gender structure of the European community.

Before the era known as The Middle Ages (approximately beginning in 500 AD) there was the period known as Classical Antiquity (spanning from around eighth century BC to 400 AD). To understand why the characteristics displayed of women in “The Decameron” were so uncommon and never before seen, one must first understand the societal barriers they dealt with during their day to day lives. “The Decameron” is a commentary and illustration of how the women of the time used their intelligence and sexuality as a means to ascertain power and break free from the societal norms and restrictions placed upon them by the Church and the patriarchal societies that had repressed them throughout history. Therefore, in his work Bocaccio captured a defining moment for women in The Middle Ages. Additionally, Boccaccio showed a side of the female gender, unseen before from the perspective of a man: woman using their intellectual prowess, wit, and sexuality as a means to achieve a desired outcome. However, through his work Boccaccio also illustrated the sexual freedom women experienced during this time a benefit of the social instability during and after the epidemic.

Boccaccio’s declared intent in writing “The Decameron” was to entertain the ladies of the era who had lost and suffered so much during the Black Death that swept the entire European continent.

Giovanni boccaccio tales from the decameron