Love and Fear in Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18778/1505-9065.17.2.07Keywords:
The Decameron, plague, love, fear, death, nobility of spiritAbstract
In the Introduction to the First Day of the Decameron Giovanni Boccaccio depicts the Black Death pandemic and also portrays the devastating effects of death on emotional states of Florentines. Although the plague doesn’t enter the artistically ordered world of the Decameron’s storytellers, death and fear are still present in the novellas. Therefore, a question may arise, how is it possible that the novellas which were written to bring comfort often show dramatic events? To approach this issue the article aims to examine various relations between love and fear. It turns out that in the reconstruction of the world devastated by the plague, it may be helpful, among other things, to return to the ancient chivalrous values and the concept of courtly love, which only noble individuals can truly experience. What is important, nobility of spirit according to Boccaccio is not determined by either gender or social origin.
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