The Decameron Day 7: 3, 5. Day 8: 3, 7, 8

In the 5th story on day 7, what can you infer about the narrator's personal experiences based on her attitude towards trickery?

The narrator is a female, and begins by saying, "Most noble ladies, the previous story prompts me to tell a similar story about a jealous husband, for I believe that whatever their wives do to them, especially when they become jealous without cause, is well done." (508) She tells a story about a man so possessive of his wife that she is not allowed to step foot outside the house or even make herself visible in windows. Though I think her plan to give her husband a reason to be jealous was clever but too harsh, the narrator clearly thought it was just, and adimred the woman for tricking her husband. This leads me to believe she could relate to the story, and possibly had a jealous husband of her own she wished to seek revenge upon.

In the 3rd story of the 8th day, Calandrino searches for heliotropes, which he believes are stones that can make a person invisible. What does this story have in common with Cretien de Troy's the Knight with the Lion, and why was invisibilty so desired in the middle ages?

In the Knight with the Lion, Lunette saves Yvain's life by giving him a ring that makes him invisible to the people who want to kill him. However the Knight with the Lion, Yvain uses the ring's powers for a reasonable cause. In the Decameron, Calandrino is a gullible man who believes that the heliotrope has special powers but they did not truly exist. His aquaintances entertained themselves by tricking Calandrino into believing an ordinary rock has made him invisible. Though there was no effect, Calandrino still attempted to trick the men into thinking he had left so he could go to the bank with his find.