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In Emilia’s ninth tale (IX, 9), Joseph is a man who is married to the stubborn and disobedient Joseph’s Wife. He befriends Melissus on the way to Jerusalem to ask Solomon how to improve her manners and learns that the problem is he hasn’t been beating her enough. He illustrates how a husband who exercises insufficient authority can lead to a recalcitrant wife and learns to control her through violence.
Get the entire The Decameron LitChart as a printable PDF.
Joseph Character Timeline in The Decameron
The timeline below shows where the character Joseph appears in The Decameron. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Day 9: Ninth Tale
...lavishly but has no friends, wants to know what he must do to be loved. Joseph wants to know what to do with his “most perverse and stubborn” wife, since his...
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...frightened, refuses to go forward. The driver begins to beat it “quite unmercifully,” and when Joseph and Melissus ask why he can’t lead it gently, he retorts “I know my mule…Just...
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Joseph invites Melissus to stay with him for a few days on his way home, and...
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The next morning, when Joseph’s Wife asks what Joseph would like for breakfast, she follows his and Melissus’s instructions exactly....
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