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Jealous Merchant
In Fiammetta’s seventh tale (VII, 5), the Jealous Merchant’s Wife is a level-headed and clever woman who sees through the Jealous Merchant’s priestly disguise and turns his attempt to spy on her into a chance to conduct an affair with her neighbor Filippo. She reveals the “truth” to her husband, and while nothing that she says is technically wrong, it’s not fully true either, showing how the clever manipulation of words can be used to a person’s advantage.
Jealous Merchant’s Wife Quotes in The Decameron
The The Decameron quotes below are all either spoken by Jealous Merchant’s Wife or refer to Jealous Merchant’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 7: Fifth Tale
Quotes
And so it was that the jealous wretch, having thought himself very clever in ferreting out his wife’s secret, saw that he had made an ass of himself. Without saying anything by way of reply, he began to look on his wife as a model of intelligence and virtue. And just as he had worn the mantle of the jealous husband when it was unnecessary, he cast it off completely now that his need for it was paramount. So his clever little wife, having, as it were, acquired a license to enjoy herself, no longer admitted her lover by way of the roof as though he were some kind of cat, but showed him in at the front door. And from that day forth, by proceeding with caution, she spent many an entertaining and delightful hour in his arms.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Jealous Merchant’s Wife Quotes in The Decameron
The The Decameron quotes below are all either spoken by Jealous Merchant’s Wife or refer to Jealous Merchant’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 7: Fifth Tale
Quotes
And so it was that the jealous wretch, having thought himself very clever in ferreting out his wife’s secret, saw that he had made an ass of himself. Without saying anything by way of reply, he began to look on his wife as a model of intelligence and virtue. And just as he had worn the mantle of the jealous husband when it was unnecessary, he cast it off completely now that his need for it was paramount. So his clever little wife, having, as it were, acquired a license to enjoy herself, no longer admitted her lover by way of the roof as though he were some kind of cat, but showed him in at the front door. And from that day forth, by proceeding with caution, she spent many an entertaining and delightful hour in his arms.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
