Tragic Love and Social Issues in Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Main Body
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

Being told in the context of entertainment, Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron contains novels that touch on the subject of tragic love, which often can be intersected with social issues, characteristic of that time. In that regard, this paper touches on those social issues in the context of tragic love, based on the first and the fifth tale of the fourth day of Decameron.

Main Body

The first and the main issue can be seen through the importance paid to social classes and the difference between them. In both tales, the difference between Chismunda, Elisabetta and their lovers was the main reason for the death of the former and subsequently Chismunda and Elisabetta following them. In the case of Chismunda, the lower class of her lover-Guiscardo, was merely pointed out as “a man of very humble birth” (Boccaccio, Musa and Bondanella 294), while in the case of Elisabetta, her lover – Lorenzo, was simply a worker for Elisabetta’s brothers (327).

Accordingly, it can be stated that the established norms of morals at that time was a major factor in the love stories turning tragic. In that regard, these norms enforced the distinction between love and marriage, where in the case of the latter, with marriage being arranged by the parents, there was little chance for love to occur between the man and the woman. At the same time, the tales obviously point out to that despite the norms and the values, the need for love as well as the sexual desires of the man and the woman were as natural as at any historical period. In that regard, such distinction led to that love relationships were held in secret, and considering the origins of the lovers in both tales, it can be stated that the finale of these love stories was initially predetermined as tragic, even before being exposed by the father and the siblings in the tales.

Additionally, it should be stated that the aforementioned social issues, i.e. distinction between social classes and established morals and norms, were multiplied by a third factor, through which they were significantly enforced, which is the position of the woman in a man dominated society. In that regard, it can be seen that those social issues were specifically true for women rather than men. For example, in the first tale of Chismunda, despite that fact that she was not under aged, and she was a widow, having been married before (294), she was not capable of ruling her own destiny in choosing the one to love or the one to marry. In the fifth tale, the position of Elisabetta was even worse, where her brothers killed her lover without even notifying her, saying “If you ask about him again, we shall have to give you the answer you deserve!” (328).

Conclusion

Thus, it can be concluded that tragic love and social issues are closely connected within Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron, often making the love story being predestined to be tragic since its beginning. The examples provided such as the social classes distinctions and the enforcement of marriages between corresponding social classes, the values and the norms established in the society, and the domination of men over the women at that time, all contributed to that many love stories were determined to become tragic.

Works Cited

Boccaccio, Giovanni, Mark Musa, and Peter E. Bondanella. The Decameron. New York: Signet Classic 2002. Print.

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Introduction

Main Body

Conclusion

Works Cited

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