- The Tenth Story of the Tenth Day: Why is Griselda being tested?
Griselda is mistreated by her husband, Gualtieri, and is made to believe her children are dead and her husband is taking a different wife. However, she is being tested for her honor and patience and her husband was making sure she wouldn’t take advantage of him.
- Compare the frame tales in the Decameron, and The Thousand and One Nights. In each case, what is the reason for telling stories? Do the stories accomplish the purpose for which they are intended? How important is the relationship between the tale and the teller?
These stories are all told by exhibiting the wit and deception of women, for example, the seventh tale of the second day features a woman that uses men but is just in the end, much like Shaharazad in One Thousand and One Nights, and the second tale on the 4th day exhibits the tale of a woman being taken advantage of by a friar. And he ninth tale on the seventh day relates to One Thousand and One Nights, as it is a story about fidelity and loyalty and faithfulness. All these stories incorporate pieces of The Thousand and One Nights, and that’s an interesting factor when thinking about storytelling in this era.
- In Laustic, what does the nightingale symbolize? Explain your answer.
The nightingale is symbolic of the love between the wife and the knight. When her husband destroys the nightingale, he does so simply to prove that he is in control, and whereas the death of the nightingale literally is unrelated to the knowledge of the affair, the woman knows she has to discontinue the romance for the greater good.
I find it interesting you have read other tales in the Decameron than those in the book. I think it gives you a deeper insight to how they compare to the thousand and one nights. I also think you nailed it perfectly with your simple but direct answer to the third question.