In this story, Griselda was in an abusive relationship. She married Gaultieri with the promise that she would be obedient no matter how outrageous his demands were. She couldn’t question them or hesitate to do what he ordered. Here, the woman plays the role as servant to her husband, like in many other stories. However, she also comes across as the protagonist. Even Gaultieri’s vassals question his outrageous demands. The author even says that “a strange humour took possession of him,” the “him” being Gaultieri. Gaultieri appeared to be testing her patience hoping she would fail. However, she never broke her vow. When Gaultieri told her to get rid of her daughter, she did. When Gaultieri told her to get rid of her son, she did. When Gaultieri wanted to divorce Griselda for the daughter of a count, she did. Even after that, Gaultieri asked her to be his servant. Through all these tribulations, Griselda remained obedient. In the end, she was rewarded with being his husband.
From the text, it was clear that a ceaselessly obedient wife was the ideal. Even Gaultieri’s vassals were critical of his treatment of Griselda. She was put through trial after trial and passed all tests. However, I can’t help but think that her obedience went unrewarded. Gaultieri initially married her. Then, she obeys several outrageous demands that eventually move her down from nobility. But in the end, she reclaims her position as wife. She didn’t get anything she didn’t have prior to the “tests”. Despite this, Griselda is the model for women from that time.
In previous texts, women were supposed to be obedient to their husbands. However, a relationship in which the male dominated typically ended with the departure of the wife. In the Lais, the women would have been rescued from their one-sided relationships by another man, and the two would live happily ever after. However, in this story despite the torment Gaultieri causes her, Griselda continually obeys her. In this text, there is more of an emphasis on obedience than in the Lais and other previous texts.

I thought the importance of the final story in the Decameron, about the Marquis of Saluzzo, was the power structure. This story demonstrates the relationship between the ruler and ruled, nobles and peasants, and husbands and wives. More importantly, however, it focuses on the idea of marriage from the husband’s perspective. Interestingly, this story shows that Gualtieri thinks of marriage as a burden and a wife would make him miserable. He also declares there are faults in the finding process by saying it is pointless to find a wife based on pedigree. His views on marriage demonstrate that, at least for him, marriage is not desirable and it is, instead, a duty he must perform. While Gualtieri’s treatment of his wife was cruel and he did not suffer any consequences, the narrator’s disapproval of Gualtieri shows that, while women were in a subordinate position to men, they were not meant to be mistreated. Interestingly, this story’s views on women parallels the Fabliaux, “Berengar of the Long Arse’s.” However, the story applauds Griselda’s patience and implies that women, despite mistreatment, must endure it, therefore, strengthening their ties to a subordinate position. Finally, the story implies that “strong” women were not viewed favorably because, as Gulatieri fears, he would “enjoy no peace.” Lastly, this story’s view on the role of women is the opposite of “The Knight of the Cart’s,” where Lancelot was virtually Guinevere’s slave, which suggests that the role of women has changed since Chrétien’s time.

Boccaccio Day 10 Story 10 cont.

Yeah so I responded without knowing the question.

The Decameron represented women as slaves and servants to their male counterparts.  They, for the most part, did not have a lot of independence and did as they were told.  In story 10, Gualtieri's wife does exactly what she is told and is forced to accept any test that is placed upon her.  This would be a negative representation of women at the time due to the fact that this woman did not have the power to act on her desires or emotions.  She was forced to hide her true feelings about Gualtieri's actions, and did not object to anything he ordered.  However, in story 1, the woman takes in the dying Marquis and decides on her own accord to have sex with him.  This action would be looked down upon and would be punished in this time period.  This is a positive portrayal of women in my opinion though because she had the confidence to do what she wanted without regard to the consequences.  

Assignment for 12pm Section

Please respond to the following questions using Day 10, book 10 as your source. What is the overall message of this story with regard to the role of women? Which characters do you think are meant to be positive presentations of womankind? Which negative?

Feel free to make comparisons with any of the other stories from the Decameron or previous texts especially the fabliaux. Please remember you must do this assignment in order to receive credit for this Friday's section.

Boccaccio Day 10 Story 10

Throughout this story, I was amazed by how Gualtieri continually needed to test his bride in such a sadistic manner.  Perhaps sadistic is the wrong word because he intended to discover if she was truly going to make him happy in life and did not necessarily derive pleasure from her pain.  Anyway, he was wrong to put her through this series of tests solely for his own benefit for over a decade.  He should not make his bride suffer just because he is so determined to prove that a woman cannot make him happy in life.  Maybe he is just destined to be miserable and should not drag a woman into his anguish.  Gualtieri should have been reprimanded and demoted in class, although I am aware that only birth determines class and nothing else.  It is surprising how his wife puts up with all this without getting an ulcer of some sort.  She deserves a promotion in standing without a doubt.