The Decameron, Day 1

            Reading through these stories, the depiction of love in some of them is much different from some of the other love stories and poems we’ve read, like the Troubadour poems. In those poems, the narrator is at somewhat of a distance and maybe doesn’t want to actually possess the woman in question, because then he won’t be able to pine for her anymore. But, like in the seventh story from the second day and the fourth story on the first day, these men and monks see this beautiful woman and instantly feel the need to have her for themselves. There isn’t any of the pining and wishing and crying that happened in the troubadour poems. Instead, these men scheme and plan to have these women, and that’s that; and usually the woman in question goes along with it. In the fourth story of the first day, the Abbot originally planned to reprimand the monk for sleeping with a woman, but after seeing her, decides that it’s not such a bad idea and sleeps with her himself, both totally disregarding the expectations for their lifestyle. And in the seventh story on the second day, the princess Alatiel ends up with nine men over four years, all because they were transfixed by her beauty as soon as they saw her, and it was impossible for them to not have her.

            What’s interesting to me is that in these two stories in particular, the women didn’t really object all that much and just kind of went along with what was happening. Alatiel traveling throughout different kingdoms with different men, not speaking the language or anything, and the woman the monks slept with are both kind of passive in their stories. Although the stories are more about the men and their desires and how they’re undeniable, in the one story Alatiel still has her honor and gets to marry because her father believes she is still a virgin.