Decameron 9.2 9.3 9.5 9.6 10.10

9.2 – The Abbess in this story seems to represent the hypocrisy of the Church during these times. It addresses the manner in which the Church preaches abstinence, temperance and overall reserved behavior, yet we find several clergy members partaking in the pleasures of indulgence and exploitation of faith. The Abbess decision to permit the nuns to join in the sins of the flesh only because she was caught with her head in somebody else’s pants illustrates the general hypocrisy common amongst church official throughout those times.

It definitely makes sin out to be relative; it is only a sin when it’s somebody else committing the act. It’s not a sin once you have been discovered and when it is convenient. The new standpoint of the Abbess is quite simply: hide the things you love. The Abbess’ choices and overall reactions illustrates the apparent hypocrisy and unstable foundation amongst clergy and even more so in Church leadership.

9.3 – At first glance I consider the friends to be the guilty party. I say this simply because they clearly express no love for Calandrino and remain friendly with him to trick him for their own amusement. Yet at a certain point one must distinguish between a gullible jester and a blatant fool. The tricks perplexing Calandrino’s life hold no foundation in simple common sense and logic, yet day in and day out he falls for them and Fortune simply frowns upon this hapless soul. This theme of characters being so foolish that they deserve to be left to the fates of their own Fortune is becoming just as common of a theme as the depravity of the Church. The story also displays a negative portrayal of women in general.

It expresses how the role of a woman is a place nobody would want to reside. The storyteller also seems to illustrate the idea that a woman is the result of all evils. The “illness,” as it is treated, befallen upon innocent Calandrino according to the storyteller, originates in the intentions of his wife. His wife brewed the idea of exchanging positions in their intercourse, as Calandrino puts it for her own “lust.” Calandrino’s foolishness reaches a degree in which his choices are his own and his fate deserving, as even the doctor “guffaws” at his utter thoughtlessness.