Analysis Of Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron

On the eighth day of Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron, three stories of sexual deception highlight the regional economic and moral distinctions of 14th century Italy. Although Italy is starting to become a country of international commerce in the late 1300s, the second tale of the eighth day is told in a village, an economic system of bartering instead of physical currency. Moreover, the first story takes place in Milan, adding a new perspective of the depiction of women with a tangible capital. Even though both of the women in these stories are adulterers, the addition of the tenth story illuminates the stark contrasts between the northern and southern economies of Italy. In the north, commerce is honest and pure, while its southern counterpart is deceitful and immoral. …show more content…
The men of the north may have had an costless affair because they deceived the wife and husband, but neither side seeks scrutinous retaliation. On the contrary Salabaetto destroys the life of Jancofiore. Her scheme of money for sex may have been grader, but she is still acting just as the other two women. These differences cause a line of clarity to be drawn between Boccaccio’s acceptance of fornification, separated by the authenticity of the geographic region of Italy. Whether it was because his cultural upbringing and lifelong connection to northern Italy or that these stories were simply based in reality, Boccaccio makes a clear distinction of the morals and the economics between northern and southern