Islam & Medieval Western Literature

After what had to have been one of the longest and most frustrating days of my life, I have gotten what little sleep time has allowed me and am now able to post. The Griselda story was, in my opinion, a strange choice for a final tale in the Decameron. Reading it, there are no big surprises, but more dramatic irony in the fact that we know what the marquis is doing while Griselda does not. Without a sense of allegory, it is an immensely frustrating series of events because of the unbelievable patience Griselda shows to her husband. Of course, Job would seem to be a fitting parallel for this story, but the moral is a little harder to grasp. In Job, we are clearly supposed to be more like Job, always having faith despite hardships. In Griselda, it’s hard to believe that anyone would put up with such cruelty as she did for the marquis. We find ourselves asking that if the marquis’ only condition for finding a wife was that she would always be faithful, then why was her initial word not a good enough indicator. Since she obviously proved herself a “worthy” wife in the end, it makes sense that she always was one. Likewise, Job proved himself worthy, but how can it be proved that the trials God put him through strengthened his faith to that level, or merely showcased it to a being that is supposed to know these things anyway. This is the tricky business of having one of your characters in a God-like role. The audience will not be as accepting to the notion that he can do anything and still be loved and revered. Bocaccio seems to believe that all of the cruelty from the marquis (and God in Job) is in the end unnecessary, being that the characters get the same point they were near the beginning, except in Griselda no one actually dies.

What strikes me is how this story has become so everlasting. Granted it is the last story, so it will undoubtedly have an accented effect, but it is unpleasant and bizarre. After Bocaccio’s version, Petrach rewrote it, then Chaucer included it in Canterbury Tales as the “Clerk’s Tale.” There is even this: The Hotel Griselda in Saluzzo. She appears in several modern plays as “Patient Griselda.” Obviously the Medieval world saw her as having great virtue, but we today see she had every right to give that marquis what he deserved when he brought those kids back. For me, it no longer works. Job was virtuous because in the end he found favor with God, which is something to aspire to. Griselda sought the happiness of just a man, and therefore her patience was for a goal that is unworthy.

Hey, you guys. I am on my way, but I won’t be in until 11:15 or so. Look up on the Decameron Web Petrarch’s letter to Boccaccio about the Decameron, with his translation of the Griselda story. Look at the changes Petrarch makes, his explanation of the changes, and decide whether or not the ‘improve’ the story or not. What does Petrarch think the story is about? What might Boccaccio think his story is about?

 See you when I can.

Dr. K.

I have been incredibly behind on this reading but today I am pretty sure I am up to snuff with the days four, six and seven. Hopefully that’s right. If not… well, dang.

To begin, the seventh day just screams out “The Canterbury Tales.” Each work was about how a woman tricked her husband in some way to stay with her lover. The most shocking one I found was the story with the bath, in which the stupid husband cleans it while the lover has his way with the wife.  I honestly couldn’t picture this situation in my head. It was too odd. one huge difference I noticed between this chapter and the general vibe of Arabian Nights was that sex and love making was a natural part of a woman’s crazy gene. But for the Decameron, sex is either a very grave subject or an incredibly funny subject. It’s like listening to a nervous fifth grader telling PG-13 rated sex jokes to his friends. Everyone huddled around laughing in an uncertain manner.

The sixth day made me feel kind of dumb. With each quirky  one liner I simply sat there scratching my head. I am sure they were brilliant at the time but if I said any of those things today I would probably get my butt kicked. I had no idea that there was such a reverence for cleverness. I thought that it was much less celebrated than that of Islamic culture. I didn’t realize how wrong I was.

Finally, on the fourth day, which I had already read a bit of, was even more interesting in the second half. I really like the story about the sage and the lover who dies from rubbing it up against his teeth. I liked that they actually had a reasonable explanation. If it was in the Arabian  Nights, they would have simply stated that it was a genie.

Too bad Dante’s not around to hear Taking Back Sunday.

From the very beginning of Vita Nuova, I get that Dante has elevated Beatrice beyond just Beatrice, some girl he bumped into a couple of times during her life. Rather Beatrice becomes a heavenly entity through Dante’s work. In fact, early on I believe he actually refers to her as a god(dess)– in one of the phrases that required a translated footnote. Dante even devotes an entire section or two of Vita Nuova to the dazzling effect Beatrice has on the people who encounter her, almost as a religious experience. When Dante encounters pilgrims, his first thought is that they must know nothing of the death of Beatrice, the tragedy that his town has suffered. (His second thought is an almost haughty assertion that, were he able to communicate his plight to the pilgrims, Dante could certainly cause them to weep. A little sick, yes?)

What is interesting then, is what this belief does to his poetry. The sole purpose of his work is to praise Beatrice who sustains Dante, even after her death. Love, then, becomes Dante’s religion, Beatrice is his god(dess) and his poetry is his prayer. Granted, courtly “love” thrives on this sort of extreme devotion, but what pushes Dante’s case over the edge, then, is the Divine Comedy.

Truth be told, my knowledge of the Divine Comedy before starting the Inferno was (is) limited. I get the gist, but what is interesting after reading Vita Nuova is Dante’s approach to describing this tour of Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. Dante asks Virgil how it is that he obtained permission to see what becomes of the soul before actually dying, and Virgil explains that Beatrice requested it. This answer is sufficient for Dante, thus likening Beatrice to God again. It is through poetry– represented by Virgil– that Beatrice’s message to Dante is communicated and her wishes executed. As far as Dante is concerned, Beatrice is the keeper of the afterlife. What’s more, a footnote early on in the Inferno points out that Dante rarely if ever (I don’t remember which) refers to Christ or the Virgin Mary; Dante has no need of these traditional religious figureheads as he has Beatrice.

At times it seems that Dante is attempting to translate his praise of Beatrice into praise of God, her creator, but the references relating them are few and far between, as if the use of “God” were only for emphasis. I wonder if Dante’s obsession with Beatrice would not be seen at the time as idolatry? But then again, it was not Catholicism that was quick to condemn idolatry, so perhaps not. It seems there is a fine line between traditional courtly love and idolatry, if there is a line at all, and if so, where is it drawn?

You could slit my throat
And with my one last gasping breath
I’d apologize for bleeding on your shirt
Taking Back Sunday