Decameron #2

2.7: In this story woman are treated as nothing more than a prize or trophy to won by men, who in turn completely determine and rule the women’s lives. We see this idea in the text as the daughter is continuously passed through the hands of many different men, almost like a piece of property as opposed to a real person.

Women in this story are given the image of frail and unknowing, needing a man’s guidance in making any of the most trivial decisions. I think this story, even though it is overwhelmingly masculine, has a feminine undertone to it, criticizing the machismo society that they live in.

2.9 This story is almost comical in the gender switching nature of it, and this is not the first story of the Decameron that we see this in. The young wife in the story adopts the outward look of a young male, going as far as to cut her hair and take on a life style like a sailor. She continues to pass off as a man, skewing the line of gender in this time.

I think this idea of gender swapping something very important, seeing as it is returning for another story in the book. As a male she is actually able to learn about the deception of what went on and find her own justice. I think this may be showing how people based intelligence strictly off gender, and when they were presented with someone who “appeared male” they trusted the person, and allowed them to do more than any female.