Ghita is Tofano’s wife in Lauretta’s seventh tale (VII, 4) and one of the day’s devious wives. Her husband’s unreasonable jealousy inspires her to take a lover, and she takes advantage of his excessive drinking to leave the house when she wants. When he catches her, she manipulates him and convinces the neighborhood of her innocence, thereby earning the ability to have lovers as she pleases, if she protects her husband’s honor by keeping his cuckolding a secret.
Get the entire The Decameron LitChart as a printable PDF.
Ghita Character Timeline in The Decameron
The timeline below shows where the character Ghita appears in The Decameron. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Day 7: Fourth Tale
...In Arezzo, a wealthy man named Tofano is unreasonably jealous of his beautiful wife, Monna Ghita. Frustrated by his baseless suspicions, she resolves to give him a reason to feel jealous,...
(full context)
But eventually, Tofano notices that Monna Ghita never drinks with him, and becomes suspicious. One night he pretends to be drunk, locking...
(full context)
Monna Ghita now heaps abuse on Tofano for his drunkenness, at such a loud volume that she...
(full context)
Eventually, the commotion reaches Monna Ghita’s family, who come to their home, beat Tofano “black and blue,” then take her back...
(full context)
