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Francesco’s Wife
Zima, the protagonist of Elissa’s third tale (III, 5), earned his name, which means “the Dandy,” because of his elegant dress and grooming. He loves Francesco’s Wife but can’t get her attention until he gives Francesco Vergellesi a fine horse in exchange for a private conversation with her. His speech is stuffed with the themes and motifs of fin’amors, and his perseverance in the face of her uncanny silence wins her affection in the end.
Zima Quotes in The Decameron
The The Decameron quotes below are all either spoken by Zima or refer to Zima. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Day 3: Fifth Tale Quotes
Dearest beloved, since I am yours and you alone have the power to fortify my soul with some vestige of hope as I languish in the fiery flames of love, I beseech you, as your most humble servant, to show me some mercy and mitigate the harshness you have been wont to display towards me in the past. Your compassion will console me, enabling me to claim that it is to your beauty that I owe, not only my love, but also my very life, which will assuredly fail unless your proud spirit yields to my entreaties, and then indeed people will be able to say that you have killed me. Now, leaving aside the fact that my death would not enhance your reputation, I believe, also, that your conscience would occasionally trouble you and you would be sorry for having been the cause of it.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Zima is madly in love with the exceptionally beautiful and faithful wife of Francesco Vergellesi, yet she doesn’t return his affection. When Francesco wants to acquire Zima’s fine horse, he thinks he can do so by manipulating the young man’s feelings, and Zima offers to trade the steed for a chance to have a private conversation with Francesco’s wife. This passage is part of that conversation in which Zima declares his love. Although Zima is wealthy, he isn’t a noble, unlike Francesco and his wife. In the classic medieval conception of fin’amors (refined loving), the kind of love that Zima Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliquid iste enim. Sequi aut maxime. Adipisci voluptate et. Volup
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Zima Character Timeline in The Decameron
The timeline below shows where the character Zima appears in The Decameron. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Day 3: Fifth Tale
...title. The only suitable horse happens to belong to a man of humble birth called Zima (“The Dandy”). Zima loves Francesco’s Wife, and Francesco thinks he can leverage this to get...
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In exchange for the horse, Zima asks Francesco for permission to speak a few words in private to his wife. Francesco...
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Previously, Francesco’s Wife has never appreciated Zima’s advances, but in listening to his speech, she is moved to love and, although she...
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After Zima leaves Francesco’s Wife, he complains to Francesco that he may as well have been talking...
(full context)
