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Sex in the Decameron

 

            
             I do not think it would be too far off the mark if someone said that Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron could be summed up in one word - sex. Sex is found in nearly every one of the seven hundred odd pages it seems, and its depiction varies from humorous to serious. If I were to try and summarize the varying representations of sex in the book I would end writing a book in itself. Hence, instead of summarizing I will instead focus my essay on the elaboration of what I feel are the three main influences on the depiction of sexual intercourse in the narrative. First, the freedom of sex in the narrative is a direct result of the ideals that accompanied the plague. Second, The Decameron is influenced by the widespread norms that existed towards lust, sex and marriage during that time. And thirdly, Boccaccio's personal beliefs must have played an important role in the construction of sex within the tales. While each of these influences are separate and distinct, it also important to note that each of them are intertwined and always manipulating each other. Therefore, it is impossible to attribute specific perspectives on sex within Boccaccio's stories to one influence, and I can only make educated generalizations.
             In The Decameron, Boccaccio places us in a time when the plague was running rampant within the medieval realm. Consequently, the society was in disarray. This is evident as Boccaccio questions, "Are you not aware because of the chaos of the present age, the judges have deserted the courts, the laws of God and man are in abeyance, and everyone is given ample license to preserve his life as best he may (478)?" Of course, the notion of having "ample license for preserving life" was translated varyingly and taken to different measures by different people. To some, it meant living in hiding and fear, but to others, life was only to be found in fearlessness and in the indulgence of worldly pleasures, namely sexual intercourse.


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