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Tancredi
In Fiammetta’s fourth tale (IV, 1), Ghismonda is Tancredi’s widowed daughter. Because her father is slow to find her a new husband, she takes his valet, Guiscardo, as a lover. Although she demonstrates the discernment (picking a good man) and circumspection (keeping it quiet) of a fin’amors lover, she falls victim to fortune when her father discovers the affair. She demonstrates virile self-control and self-determination when she avoids excessive emotional displays of grief and calmly takes her own life after Guiscardo is executed; in her suicide she reflects Roussillon’s Wife, who demonstrates similar traits in taking her own life in a later tale.
Ghismonda Quotes in The Decameron
The The Decameron quotes below are all either spoken by Ghismonda or refer to Ghismonda. 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 4: First Tale
Quotes
But leaving this aside, consider for a moment the principles of things, and you will see that we are all of one flesh and that our souls were created by a single Maker, who gave the same capacities and powers and faculties to each. We were all born equal, and still are, but merit first set us apart, and those who had more of it, and used it the most, acquired the names of nobles to distinguish themselves from the rest. Since then, this law has been obscured by a contrary practice, but nature and good manners ensure that its force still remains unimpaired; hence any man whose conduct is virtuous proclaims himself a noble, and those who call him by any other name are in error.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Save those tears of yours for a less coveted fate than this of mine, Tancredi, and shed them not for me, for I do not want them. Who ever heard of anyone, other than yourself, who wept on achieving his wishes? But if you still retain some tiny spark of your former love for me, grant me one final gift, and since it displeased you that I should live quietly with Guiscardo in secret, see that my body is publicly laid to rest beside his in whatever spot you choose to cast his remains.
Get the entire The Decameron LitChart as a printable PDF.
Ghismonda Quotes in The Decameron
The The Decameron quotes below are all either spoken by Ghismonda or refer to Ghismonda. 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 4: First Tale
Quotes
But leaving this aside, consider for a moment the principles of things, and you will see that we are all of one flesh and that our souls were created by a single Maker, who gave the same capacities and powers and faculties to each. We were all born equal, and still are, but merit first set us apart, and those who had more of it, and used it the most, acquired the names of nobles to distinguish themselves from the rest. Since then, this law has been obscured by a contrary practice, but nature and good manners ensure that its force still remains unimpaired; hence any man whose conduct is virtuous proclaims himself a noble, and those who call him by any other name are in error.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Save those tears of yours for a less coveted fate than this of mine, Tancredi, and shed them not for me, for I do not want them. Who ever heard of anyone, other than yourself, who wept on achieving his wishes? But if you still retain some tiny spark of your former love for me, grant me one final gift, and since it displeased you that I should live quietly with Guiscardo in secret, see that my body is publicly laid to rest beside his in whatever spot you choose to cast his remains.
