The Decameron is a collection of short stories written by the Italian author Boccaccio in the 14th century. Gender is one of the main notable themes of The Decameron. The story takes place during a time when there was a plague in Italy and many people had fled various cities and were hiding in the countryside. The tales came from a group of three young men and six women who were fleeing the city of Florence, and they used these tales to pass the time, which became the tales that made up the Decameron. Boccaccio's writings are full of statements that focus on women, and it is a fact that these statements praise women on the one hand and blame them on the other. Lust, strength and wit are the three main arguments used by the writer in comparison of the two gender categories. These three arguments, which can be described as feminist or anti-feminist, will therefore shape the theme of gender. There is a relationship that exists between Boccaccio's time and modern society, and this particularly concerns the way we see women. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the Original EssaySo it can be said that Boccaccio, in his time, was a feminist who also had a glimpse of the future. Boccaccio clung to seemingly outdated misogynistic and traditional views of women. This can be confirmed by the fact that a large portion of playwrights praise women for their wit and aggressiveness, especially on issues such as love or lust. Boccaccio goes so far as to ignore or refrain from talking about his personal misery, pain, and destruction, and he allows the reader to be entertained by female supremacy. He writes the following in support of the refrain: “The more I reflect on this misery, the deeper is my sense of personal sorrow; this is why I refrain from describing the aspects which can conveniently be omitted, and I inform you that such were the conditions which prevailed in our city” (Boccaccio, 1804). The tension between men and women was best represented by Dioneo's story. The gender disparity inherent in Boccaccio's time was best explored in Dioneo's narrative. Therefore, the stories in The Decameron are mostly controversial, but they are also thought-provoking to some extent. The women in Boccaccio's stories have been described as being difficult to fall into the trap of touchiness, as they always find a way to maneuver some of the complex situations. they face. With this we can say that women are stronger than men, and this is clearly justified in the stories. This was demonstrated by Boccaccio through certain stories which very well illustrated how, in certain adversities, women managed to overcome. The story involving Gualtieri and Griselda in the Tenth Day best explains how a woman can tolerate hardship. Griselda displayed calm throughout the unjustified and cruel treatment she received at the hands of her future spouse. She went through these tribulations without the slightest thought of retaliation or revenge, and through this we can say that Boccaccio's intention was to justify that women bear more difficulties than men and ultimately triumph. The women of the Decameron have been described as dominant and assertive. . The Tale of the Tenth Day of Dioneo tells of a rich young man named Gualtieri who identifies a poor young woman called Griselda as his wife. Gualtieri offers many dissuasive conditions before asking to marry Griselda: “if he were to marry her, she would always try to please him and would never be upset by anything he said or did, whether she would obey him, and many other questions. like this, to which she replied that she would. (Boccaccio, 1804) He forced his fiancée to undress in public, and Griselda was still able to get through it all without an outward expression of qualms or resistance. This proves how women of this era suffered many adversities and yet managed to overcome them. Griselda subsequently lived happily with her husband and fathered him a child. Boccaccio, through this story of the tenth day, proved that women are mentally stronger than men. Griselda's cruelty ends with some consoling words from Gualtieri: "The time has come for you to reap the fruit of your unfailing patience, and for those who considered me a cruel and bestial tyrant, to know that all I What I did was done in an intentional way. because I wanted to show you how to be a good wife and guarantee my peace and quiet as long as we live under the same roof. When I came to take a wife, I was very afraid that this peace would be denied me, and to prove the contrary, I tormented and provoked you in the way you saw. But as I have never seen you oppose my wishes, I now intend, convinced that you can offer me all the happiness I desire, to return in a single instant what I took from you little by little, and to appease deliciously the pain that I inflicted on you. (Boccaccio, 1804) This statement simply proves the magnitude of adversity that Griselda faced, and yet she got through it all alone and unscathed. Most of Boccaccio's stories also depict women as people who lust after sex more than men, and they do so by using their wits to outwit their culprits. The story itself, in its introductory part, constitutes a consolation for women in love. This gives an indication of how Boccaccio believes that women tend to feature more often than men in sexual situations. In the story of the Third Day told by Filostrato, a young man who tended gardens and did menial work, called Nuto, introduced Masetto to replace him at the convent and fulfill the same roles. Masetto plans to trick the nuns into having sex with him, which he succeeds in by pretending to be deaf. He does this for several days but later realizes that it was becoming too much for him. This can be interpreted to mean that Boccaccio thinks that women want sex more than men. The tenth story of Alibech and Rustico told by Dieneo also best explains the aspect of lust. Rustico makes Alibech believe that the best way to send the devil back to hell is to have sex with him. Rustico finds this ritual of “serving God” very interesting and becomes overzealous (Boccaccio, 1804). The insatiable nature of women's desire is again very well illustrated on the second day in the story of Ricciardo da Chinzica. Dioneo's narration is about an old lawyer who marries Bartolomea, a very young and beautiful lady who easily attracts the attention of young single men. She is not sexually satisfied by her husband and, for this reason, she decides to go live with a certain young man named Paganino. Bartolomea refuses to return to her husband when she begs him to return. She responds to Ricciardo with the following: "You showed very few signs of knowing me when I lived with you, for if, then or now, you were as wise as you wish to pretend, you would have certainly must have had the courageto understand that a fresh and vigorous young woman like me needs something more than food and clothes, even if modesty forbids her from saying it. And you know how little you have provided. If you were more interested in studying law than keeping a wife, you should never have gotten married in the first place. (Boccaccio, 1804) This can be interpreted to mean that Boccaccio agreed with what Bartolomea was doing and that he praised the fact that she decided to follow her natural desires and live with the young man forever. It is also important to note that not only did Bartolomea agree with her point of view, but the other ladies also unanimously agreed on what she had done. This can be illustrated by the following writing by Boccaccio: "This story threw the whole company into such bursts of laughter that there was not one among them whose jaws did not hurt, and the ladies were unanimous in saying that Dioneo was right..." (Boccaccio, 1804) The theme chosen by Dioneo on the seventh day illustrates very well how Boccaccio considered women as obsessed with lust or sex. When he was appointed king, Dioneo explains. to the brigatte the following: "I would like us to talk tomorrow about the tricks that, either out of love or for reasons of self-preservation, women have played on their husbands, regardless of whether they have been discovered or not (. Boccaccio, 1804) Dienao believed very well that the subject was very sensitive but he was not dissuaded from discussing it. In Boccaccio's time, it was generally believed that every subject should be discussed freely The laughter that resulted from this genre. of tales show the pleasure that women derive from this type of story. This is interpreted to mean that they must also have put into practice what was under discussion. According to Dioneo, who is used by Boccaccio to tell his stories, sexual desires are the key to a woman's power in any society. He observes that wit and cunning often play a large role, alongside sexual desires, in obtaining this power. The question of sexuality is essential in Boccaccio because it can be considered the most powerful point for comparing the two types of genres. On the ninth day, Dioneo tells a short story from The Decameron which tells the story of a priest and a poor couple. The peasant couple receives a surprise visit from the priest who suggests that they sleep in the stable because his female horse transforms into a female during sleep. The peasant's wife desires such power, and he asks the priest to help him perform this kind of miracle. The priest agrees with this, and in the words of Boccaccio; “..removed all her clothes and got down on all fours like a mare, also advising her not to utter a word whatever happened, after which he began to caress her face and head with his hands. » (Boccaccio, 1804) This The process continues while the priest touches all parts of the peasant woman's body without her complaining at all. This shows how much she really enjoys this kind of sexual activity. The husband, who always followed the unfolding of events, complained to the priest. So the priest stops the process, lamenting that the magical transformation was interrupted, and the wife gets really offended and calls her husband a fool for interrupting the process. The wife's anguish goes further and shows how supportive the wife was of what was happening. The cunning nature of women has been well demonstrated in most of the stories, and this simply shows how women, again in Boccaccio's stories, triumph over men. . In the Seventh Day, the story told by Elissa about Rinaldo who hatches a plan to covet with the.