Sociopaths And Psychoopaths In The Decameron By Giovanni Boccaccio

In today’s world there is a much more scientific and social understanding to identifying sociopaths and psychopaths. Compared to times like the Middle Ages and the Renaissance there is a much more concrete definition for these distinct personalities. Understanding what we now know, sometimes when you learn history it really makes you wonder if some people in the past were textbook defined sociopaths or psychopaths. It surely played a role back then as we see noticeable characteristics such as extreme deceitfulness all throughout older novels like the Decameron, written by Giovanni Boccaccio in 1353. Were these characters bordering the line to this mental disorder? Sociopaths and psychopaths have their differences, yet even back then they stuck …show more content…
Seen throughout present day Hollywood to times as old as the Decameron, writers have given their characters distinctive attitudes to capture the audience in wonder of what they’ll do next. Within the Decameron, Third Day, First Story, the protagonist of the story uses extreme deceit to manipulate nuns into getting what he wants. This trait of manipulation is something both psychopaths and sociopaths share. Yet, while they have similarities, these two personalities differ in large …show more content…
A sociopath is not likely to be able to hold down a steady job, commonly switching from small low level jobs all throughout their lives. They are known to be able to form attachments to particular individuals or groups. Yet, a psychopath is unable to form any bond whatsoever to another individual. A famous presumed psychopath in history is Sergi Nechayev (born in 1847), a Russian radical who was well known for his extensive lies and manipulation during his life. Back in his time period, the nineteenth century, antisocial personality disorder was labeled as moral insanity. His legacy of terror shows how mental illness has shown no mercy over the