The Decameron

Emilia invites direct comparison between her tale and Panfilo’s, in which a “worthy” priest started an affair with Belcolore in exchange for the gift of a fine cloak. In this tale, then, the audience should pay attention to how sexuality is valued in relationship to class. As a widow, Monna Piccarda is marginally in control of herself rather than under the authority of a husband, although she still lives with her brothers. The provost’s love is doubly inappropriate because he is a priest (in other words, he has taken a vow of chastity) and because he is old; as multiple stories have demonstrated, old men are mostly incapable of the physical performance necessary for pleasing a woman. Moreover, he is personally objectionable; the audience is primed to expect, on a day of tricks, that Piccarda will gain the upper hand and upset the provost’s plans.

In addition to demonstrating her noble birth and polite upbringing, Piccarda’s gentle refusals illustrate the delicate position of women in a patriarchal society: she tries to indicate her disinterest obliquely rather than risk confronting him directly. Other tales in The Decameron have shown that women who directly reject a man’s advances are vulnerable to violence or sexual extortion, so her initial politeness seems to be warranted for her safety. Nevertheless, the provost operates under the assumption that, as a woman, she will give him what he wants. While Piccarda reverted to the authority of her brothers after her husband’s death, she is nevertheless able to demonstrate her own intelligence by hatching a plan in which they play a supporting role.