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Francesco Vergellesi
Francesco’s Wife appears alongside Francesco Vergellesi in Elissa’s third tale (III, 5). She demonstrates wifely obedience when Francesco orders her to listen but not respond to Zima’s impassioned statements of love. However, she ultimately allows herself to be swayed by the power of love and avoids wasting her youth on an absent husband, taking Zima as her lover. Thus, while she is still the object with which Zima is rewarded for his perseverance, she also demonstrates female sexual agency.
Francesco’s Wife Quotes in The Decameron
The The Decameron quotes below are all either spoken by Francesco’s Wife or refer to Francesco’s Wife. 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.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Francesco’s Wife Quotes in The Decameron
The The Decameron quotes below are all either spoken by Francesco’s Wife or refer to Francesco’s Wife. 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.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
