In this blog post, we’ll explore the appeal of ‘The Decameron’ by focusing on its background, themes, and the power of its storytelling.
‘The Decameron’ is, without a doubt, an entertaining book. And for good reason: the ten storytellers in the work go to great lengths to tell entertaining stories. There is no intention from the outset to impart a moral lesson or serve as a model for others. That is why it is so free. It shows human nature as it is, unhesitatingly revealing even the shameful aspects of humanity. Consequently, there are quite a few stories that make one blush. However, it was precisely because of this candor that it was loved by the common people from the moment it was first published. Although it may have been shunned by respectable literary figures, ‘The Decameron’ became an immortal masterpiece thanks to the love of the common people. Some even regard ‘The Decameron’ as an extension of Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’ into the human world. In other words, they consider ‘The Decameron’ an immortal masterpiece on par with ‘The Divine Comedy’.
What’s particularly interesting is the historical context. In 1348, the Black Death swept through Florence, Italy. The entire city was gripped by the fear of death, and as nearly everyone either died of the plague or fled to other places, Florence effectively became a ghost town. Under such circumstances, there was certainly no room for leisurely exchanges of entertaining stories. Yet Boccaccio wrote ‘The Decameron’ against the backdrop of precisely that horrific setting. Why? Because he understood the power of storytelling.
Boccaccio directly states his intention at the beginning of the work: just as pleasure is often followed by pain, misfortune can also end with a sudden, joyful event. He clearly states that he wrote this book to bring pleasure and joy to his readers. No matter how painful one’s experiences may be, people are bound to seek out joy, and there is no remedy more effective than such joy.
Stories are, in fact, the medicine that heals pain. Not a medicine that makes one forget the pain, but one that heals it. The seven women and three men in the work gather together to share stories, sing, and dance. No matter how painful the situation, it cannot cause a person to lose their true human nature. Through ‘The Decameron’, Boccaccio shows that people were not born to live in suffering. He argues that even in the harshest of circumstances, people have the right to find joy. In that sense, ‘The Decameron’ is a noble book.
Think about it. When the Black Death rages, people are dying left and right, and there seems to be no hope at all—what will ultimately happen? In short, there is a risk of losing our humanity. People might forget the preciousness of life and sink into despair, or they might degenerate into little more than beasts, pursuing only pleasure while they are alive. It is precisely stories that help us preserve our humanity in such situations, for they embody humanity’s inherent dreams and happiness. The ‘Decameron’, which reveals dreams and happiness amidst despair, is thus regarded as a noble work.
Giovanni Boccaccio was born in 1313 and died in 1375. He is remembered as a great writer alongside his contemporaries, such as Dante and Petrarch. The reason he became a great writer was that he ceaselessly explored the true nature of humanity amid an era ravaged by the Black Death. Although he is sometimes compared to Dante, he clearly followed a different path.
Of course, Boccaccio was greatly influenced by Dante. Nevertheless, he displayed different interests than Dante. In medieval Christian society, Dante wrote works lamenting the corruption of the Church and yearning for religious salvation. The theme of ‘The Divine Comedy’ is religious transcendence.
Boccaccio, on the other hand, took a greater interest in reality itself. His focus was not on divine providence but on human nature; not on the transcendent world but on the human society in which we actually live. With Boccaccio as a turning point, the novel came down from lofty heights and lowered its perspective to the “here and now” in which we find ourselves.
The title of the work, ‘The Decameron’, means “ten days of stories” in Greek. Ten young men and women flee the city ravaged by the Black Death and gather on the outskirts of Florence. Over the course of ten days, they share a total of 100 stories—one each day. On some days, they choose a specific theme for their stories; on others, they tell tales freely. These 100 stories encompass every kind of experience people might encounter while living in this world.
Although ‘The Decameron’ is Boccaccio’s individual work, the 100 stories it contains are truly diverse. The diversity is so great that it does not seem to have been created by a single voice. Boccaccio was well aware of how diverse people’s thoughts and lives are, so he refrained from imposing his own voice as much as possible. Therefore, ‘The Decameron’ is both Boccaccio’s work and a collection of countless voices.
Readers can freely let their imaginations run wild amid these diverse voices. While reading the ‘Decameron’, you can listen to the stories and thoughts of others while simultaneously adding your own imagination to expand the narrative. That is precisely the true joy of the ‘Decameron’. What do you think? Wouldn’t you like to form a story club with friends who’ve read this work together to share your free-flowing imaginations and dreams?
