Groom Character Analysis in The Decameron

In Pampinea’s third tale (III, 2), the Groom who cares for Theodelinda’s horse falls hopelessly in love with her. Despite being lowborn, he cleverly figures out how to infiltrate her bed disguised as her husband, and then how to escape Agilulf’s attention. He demonstrates the day’s theme—perseverance—by dint of his efforts to sneak into the queen’s bed and his wily avoidance of the punishment his actions deserved.

Groom Quotes in The Decameron

The The Decameron quotes below are all either spoken by Groom or refer to Groom. 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:

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On hearing these words, the King immediately came to the conclusion that the Queen had been taken in by an outward resemblance to his own physique and manner. But he was a wise man, and since neither the Queen nor anybody else appeared to have noticed the deception, he had no hesitation in deciding to keep his own counsel. Many a stupid man would have reacted differently, and exclaimed “It was not I. Who was the man who was here? What happened? Who was it who came?” But this would only have led to complications, upsetting the lady when she was blameless and sowing the seeds of a desire, on her part, to repeat the experience. And besides, by holding his tongue his honor remained unimpaired, whereas if he were to talk he would make himself look ridiculous.

Related Characters: Pampinea (speaker), Agilulf, Theodelinda, Groom

Page Number and Citation: 202-203

Explanation and Analysis:

Groom Character Timeline in The Decameron

The timeline below shows where the character Groom appears in The Decameron. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...tale. Agilulf, king of Lombardy, is married to the beautiful and virtuous Theodelinda. A certain Groom, who came from a very low-born family, loved her hopelessly. He had the good sense... (full context)

Realizing that the only way to bed Theodelinda would be to deceive her, the Groom looks for a way to impersonate Agilulf. He hides in the palace, where he witnesses... (full context)

When everyone has fallen asleep, the Groom wraps himself in the cloak and knocks on Theodelinda’s door. A sleepy maid lets him... (full context)

...adulterous servant’s heart would still be racing after his exertions, and checks everyone’s pulse. The Groom, although afraid for his life, pretends to be asleep to see what the king will... (full context)

...“better not do it again.” The servants wonder at these strange words, except for the Groom, who never visits Theodelinda again. (full context)