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Florentine Friar
Friar Puccio is the hapless husband at the center of Panfilo’s third tale (III, 4). His wife, Monna Isabetta, is significantly younger than he is, and either his age or his religious inclinations mean that he’s unable to satisfy her sexually. He is a pious Franciscan tertiary (meaning he took less stringent vows than full monks and still lived in the world), and he actively cultivates the friendship and spiritual mentoring of Dom Felice. He demonstrates the day’s theme—perseverance—in his willingness to engage in extreme penitential practices to gain salvation, even as Dom Felice cuckolds him with Isabetta.
Friar Puccio Quotes in The Decameron
The The Decameron quotes below are all either spoken by Friar Puccio or refer to Friar Puccio. 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: Fourth Tale
Quotes
Friar Puccio thought he could detect a certain amount of vibration in the floorboards. When […] he had recited a hundred of his paternosters […] without leaving his post, he called out to his wife and demanded to know what she was doing.
His wife […] who at that moment was possibly riding bareback astride the nag of Saint Benedict or Saint John Gaulbert, replied:
‘Heaven help me, dear husband, I am shaking like mad.’
‘Shaking? … What is the meaning of all this shaking?’
His wife shrieked with laughter […] ‘What,’ she replied, ‘You don’t know its meaning? Haven’t I heard you saying, hundreds of times: “He that supper doth not take, in his bed all night will shake”?’
[…]
‘Wife,’ he replied […] ‘I told you not to fast, but you would insist. Try not to think about it. Try and go to sleep.’
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Decameron LitChart as a printable PDF.
Friar Puccio Quotes in The Decameron
The The Decameron quotes below are all either spoken by Friar Puccio or refer to Friar Puccio. 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: Fourth Tale
Quotes
Friar Puccio thought he could detect a certain amount of vibration in the floorboards. When […] he had recited a hundred of his paternosters […] without leaving his post, he called out to his wife and demanded to know what she was doing.
His wife […] who at that moment was possibly riding bareback astride the nag of Saint Benedict or Saint John Gaulbert, replied:
‘Heaven help me, dear husband, I am shaking like mad.’
‘Shaking? … What is the meaning of all this shaking?’
His wife shrieked with laughter […] ‘What,’ she replied, ‘You don’t know its meaning? Haven’t I heard you saying, hundreds of times: “He that supper doth not take, in his bed all night will shake”?’
[…]
‘Wife,’ he replied […] ‘I told you not to fast, but you would insist. Try not to think about it. Try and go to sleep.’
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
