Boccaccio's Representation Of Women In The Decameron

: What is woman perception for Boccaccio , How women represented in Decameron,Why is sexuality used in the Decameron?What are the differences between Chaucer and Boccaccio?What are the references of Dante take places in the Decameron

INTRODUCTION

About DECAMERON

“The Decameron Stories” written by Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio between years 1348-1351 take place in the period of plague epidemic which devastated Europe. He narrates how plague was suffered in Firenze and reactions of people against collective deaths as a close observer at introduction of the book to his readers. Aldo S .Bernardo states “ In short, the plaque in the “Decameron” resembles the voice of Augustine in Petrarch’s “ Secretum” reminding his protégé not only of the fragility of human condition but of the fearfulness of the final moment of life and of the evanescent nature of human love.’’

At brief introduction of Boccaccio, we feel how the great epidemic which terrorized humans and confronted them with death, deeply affected human’s psychology and shaken their value judgments and beliefs to their

foundations. The most traumatic and impressive aspect on humans was the fact facing death on their own. People were mostly dying alone. Even without having a bed. As told by Boccaccio in the Decameron, many people drew their last breath on streets. Anybody suspected of being plague-stricken was abandoned instantly. People abandoned their close relatives and even their children. Villages were isolated. Those who were not plague-stricken had no choice but running away.
According to David Wallace; “ Boccaccio is detached observer but not an indifferent one: he speaks as a survivor of the plaque and survivor of love who records desperate strategies of those trapped in the wrong place at the wrong time’’. The dark period in which European people lived together with death was also a period in which belief for religion’s rescuing capacity was ruined. The cruel behavior of church and religious functionaries towards some groups and minorities shook social life and understandings to their foundations. (Wallace, 1991)
Hollander declares that “ Boccaccio’s final work in vernacular fiction has been for the most post part an embarrassment even to it is admirers. It is almost universally understood as running counter to the spirit of the preceding masterwork the Decameron.’’(Hollander, 1988)
In this process, while economic and social life was interrupted, sciences interesting in living creatures, especially the medical science started to develop.

Importance of lost human being showed up. In this respect, plague which spread fear until second half of 14th century was at the same time important for planting seeds of Humanist Philosophy and Renaissance movement. In 14th century, humanism first started to develop in Italy. Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio of Italian origin were pioneers of humanism thought. Mariengala Causa-Steindler and Thomas Mauch express that “ Boccaccio loved to experiment and was not afraid to challenge traditional bounds. They implement by interpreting “ His trust in the freedom of fantasy made him unafraid of the overstatements of the grotesque.’’ (Causa-Steindler, Mauch,

1990)