Boccaccios Decameron - Book Report/Review Example

Despite all these, Griselda never complained (Boccaccio 400-403). Then, as if these two horrible acts were not enough, Gualtieri declared that his marriage to Griselda was annulled and then returned her to her poor father's house so he could marry a noblewoman of Panago. To add insult to injury, he then asked her to prepare the wedding and be present to receive the young bride and her brother. In all these, Griselda followed her former husband's wishes as a devoted and loyal subject (Boccaccio 404).

On the supposed wedding day, Gualtieri finally revealed his scheme in the presence of Griselda and the townspeople: the supposed bride and her little brother, now twelve and six years old, were really his and Griselda's children. He congratulated Griselda on her heroic patience, told her the marriage annulment was not true and that she was still his lawful wife, and then welcomed her back as the lady of their kingdom, worthy of the respect and praise that her husband, the noblemen, and townspeople could bestow on her.

Gualtieri, who claimed that one of the reasons he tested Griselda was to teach his people how to take and keep a wife, was likewise praised for his wisdom and for proving his wife's worth to his people, thereby showing that he was a also a good and prudent ruler (Boccaccio 405-406). ThInsights on Love and LeadershipThe story is almost seven centuries old, so any reader of the narrative must control the urge to call 911 and squeal on Gualtieri's spousal abuse. Boccaccio was presenting several hidden meanings in the tale, and it is in the context of the culture and values of his time that an attempt can be made to analyze the story and learn two key points.

The first is the mindset of the author, while the second is a set of lessons worth applying in our day and age. In Boccaccio's time, mankind was beginning to question the wisdom of an omnipotent Deity and to discern whether there is a plan to the whole of creation. The plagues that killed millions and the never-ending wars among families and towns in what is now modern Italy marked a cycle of life, suffering, and death that seemed inescapable. In the moral Gualtieri who had an over-all plan of subjecting his poor wife to a series of gut-wrenching tests that he knew would end happily ever after, Boccaccio seemed to mirror the presence and behavior of the Divine.

Part of the test is the glorification of the sufferer once the trials are over and the restoration of one's personal status and honor in the end. Mankind, in the person of Griselda, was being reminded that all worldly trials would end, and that whoever perseveres in patience would be rewarded (Boccaccio 406).Most of the readers at the time, perhaps including those who heard the prose narrations of the tales, would have sympathized with Griselda. In fact, a reading of the history of that era showed how much people in the known world (predominantly European) suffered with the events to which foolish rulers subjected their people: families were divided and separated along political and geographic lines, human rights were abused, social status became a justification for humiliation, and people followed their rulers with a blind and unthinking obedience.

Now, as comfort and wealth replace the people's trust towards their rulers as motives for subjecting their