Gualtieri leads his vassals to believe he is going to marry the daughter of one of the counts of

Panago, but he sends for Griselda. He tells her he is getting remarried, and he wishes her to greet
his new bride and make all of the arrangements for her. Griselda does so without complaint.

In the meantime he orders his son and daughter returned to him (he had them raised in secret in
Bologna). He passes his daughter off as the woman he plans to marry, and asks Griselda what she
thinks of her. Griselda answers the girl appears beautiful and wise, but she begs Gualtieri not to
treat the girl as she had been treated, because she is a lady and doesn’t know hardship, while
Griselda was born a peasant and could endure.

Gualtieri finally reveals his plot, and tells her she convinced him of her true worth. They are
reunited in great emotion and love. He honors and treasures her for the rest of his life.

At the end of his day, Panfilo reminds the group they have been away from Florence 15 days,
and it is time for their journey to end. They fled the city to get away from all of the death brought
on by the plague. He feels they have accomplished their goals, and now it is time for them to
return. The rest of the brigata agree, and they make plans to return to the city the next day. They
return to the place where they all met, the church of Santa Maria Novella, and go their separate
ways in peace.

Analysis
Griselda’s tale shares similarities with the biblical trials of Job. Gualtieri wishes to test the
obedience of his wife, and sets about devising and putting Griselda through as many tests and
torments to see if her obedience to him will falter. It never does, despite the hardships he puts her
through. Even when his own vassals begin to question him, Griselda maintains her loyalty and
kindness.

The theme of class is also at work in this tale. Griselda is born a peasant. At first, Gualtieri’s
vassals question her suitability for the position as their lady, but Griselda’s patience, kindness,
and obedience to their lord impress them all. She rises gracefully to her new social class. Still,
Gualtieri does not trust the traits she exhibits are permanent and, like God does to Job, he tests
her. The marital relationship mirrors God and his supplicants in some ways, as does the class
system. As lord to a peasant, Gualtieri automatically outranks Griselda. As husband to a wife, he
again serves as the head of the family, and the one who makes the decisions in medieval life.

Placing it in the context of religion—and seeing Gualtieri as a sort of God—permits the reader to
frame this story partly as allegory. Often, marriage in the Middle Ages was compared to the
higher/lower relationship between God and the Church everyone at least nominally was part of.
With the plague raging throughout the land, it would seem to some God abandoned them to their
deaths, despite the Church and their prayers and good deeds. If God is all powerful, why would
he make them suffer? The plague was relentless and had no mercy for young or old, rich or the
poor, holy or profane. All died, and prayers had no effect. It would be easy to lose faith and
denounce God in this kind of situation.

But if framed as a test—much like Griselda’s marriage is—the suffering can become
understandable. Griselda loses two children to Gualtieri’s tests—they are not killed but are raised
away from her, although she isn’t given to know that until later—much like many mothers would
have lost their children during the plague. She is abandoned, cast out, much like people who had
been infected were cast out of the house, or left behind when the family fled. And through it all
she displays perfect obedience. She never loses faith in her lord. Instead, she becomes an
example of faithfulness, patience, and resilience, and never blames Gualtieri for his treatment of
her.

Another interpretation is Griselda is not an allegory for how to be patient, and suffer through
God’s tests, but God is cruel for even requiring this type of test. As Gualtieri’s testing of Griselda
continues, his own people begin to mutter against him for his harsh and unfair treatment of his
much beloved wife. They grow to hate him for it, although they dare not utter such things for
fear of his reprisals. This mirrors the mutterings of the populace as the Catholic Church pursued
its persecution of heretics and became mired in scandals. Boccaccio already has a narrative of
questioning the clergy running through a number of stories, beginning with the “First Day, First
Story.” In that story Cepparello is a wicked man who got his sainthood through trickery. Griselda
is an actual saint for her obedience and loyalty to her husband. As the last story in a tale of
stories, especially in light of the narrator (Dioneo) famed for his bawdy and scandalous tales,
Griselda’s tale seems to hold greater weight and import.

Chaucer drew upon Boccaccio’s tale of Griselda and her husband in his own frame story, The
Canterbury Tales. “The Clerk’s Tale” is a retelling of this Griselda story.
Conclusion | Summary
Summary
In his author’s conclusion, Boccaccio wishes to address some of the criticism he already sees
coming his way. He did this once already in the Introduction to the Fourth Day, but he intends to
address more specific admonishments now that the tales are complete. First he addresses those
who think the tales told are too licentious for women to hear and tell. His response is anything
can and should be said if phrased properly, which he thinks he did in The Decameron.

He first confronts those who might have a problem with the language in his tales. He counters
their arguments by first saying he had to stay true to the tale itself otherwise he risked distorting
the meaning, then continues on to say if someone reading has problems with the word choices
used, they should have the same problems with everyday speech and words like wiener, fat
sausage, hole, and any other words that might have sexual connotations. He argues his stories
should be given the same consideration and freedom as the art of the time period. He then goes
on to argue the stories were told not in a church, but in a garden. A garden is meant for
pleasurable pursuits, just as his stories were meant to bring pleasure. He also manages to get
another dig in at the clergy by saying there are a number of scandalous tales in the Bible.

Next, Boccaccio argues his stories can be good or bad depending on the listener. It is not the tales
themselves that are to blame, but the way the person listening perceives and interprets them. A
sword is neither good nor bad: it is the person wielding it that determines its actions. If people
want to attach base meaning to Boccaccio’s stories, that is their prerogative. He is not forcing
anyone to read them.

To those who say some of the stories are not as good as others, Boccaccio simply counters with
what field doesn’t have a few weeds in it? And for those who say some of the stories are too
long, he again mentions he created The Decameron with ladies in mind who have little to fill
their time with and require distraction, so length is not an issue for them.

Finally, Boccaccio leaves it up to the reader to make the decision about his skill, intent, and
disposition of the tales provided in The Decameron. He can only than” God for his help in
reaching the end of his work. He hopes the women reading this enjoy the tales, and, if they did,
they think of him fondly.
Analysis
As with the preface, Boccaccio again uses the authorial persona here in the epilogue. He offers a
response to the stock complaints of medieval critics of the period. He's already arguing for the
narrative prose form in earlier instances of narrative interludes, and here he continues. While his
persona is dismissive of the tales as being meant only for those ladies needing distraction, this
attitude is not to be believed. Boccaccio had already elevated the prose narrative in earlier works;
it doesn’t make sense he would belittle his accomplishments here. He challenges those critics
who still say a narrative novel is not worthy of consideration.

Boccaccio’s conclusion is as timely today as it was in medieval times. He mentions words and
items (like swords) have no meaning beyond what the reader or user applies to them. A sword is
not good or bad, but the hand that holds it determines whether its actions are good or bad. There
is a level of relativity in this statement that was not typically present in literature of the time; it is
a subject we still struggle with today with regards to gun use and what constitutes pornography.
The idea judgment was personal and relative was unique to Boccaccio, making The Decameron
something that can be read and debated even in modern times.

Summary: The Story of Griselda by Giovanni Boccaccio Gualtieri, the Marquis of Saluzzo, spent
so much time at hunting and other sports that he gave no thought about marrying and
establishing a family. His friends and subjects, fearing that old age would overtake him before he
acquired an heir, pressured him to take a wife. Finally, more to silence his critics than to satisfy
any desire that he might have for matrimony, he resolved to court a beautiful, but poor young
woman from a neighboring village. Her family’s low station in life would spite those who had so
urgently insisted that he marry, and her beauty, he thought, would make living with her at least
bearable. Gualtieri informed Griselda – that was the young woman’s name – of his intention to
marry her, and asked her if she would accept him as a husband, to love, honor, and obey, for
better or for worse, and never criticize him nor question his authority. She readily agreed, and
their wedding was celebrated forthwith. Griselda appeared to be a worthy addition to Gualtieri’s
noble household, but the marquis, unsure of the depth of her character, decided to test her loyalty
and her patience. Thus, soon after the birth of their first child it was a beautiful girl -- he
informed her that his subjects were unhappy with the child and that it was to be put to death.
Without hesitation she acceded to her husband’s demands and surrendered the child. However,
instead of killing the baby girl, Gualtieri had her spirited away and tended in a secret place.
Sometime later Griselda gave birth to a son, and her husband, intent on carrying his test still
further, berated her and Insisted that her child be put to death. She again yielded to his demands
without complaint, and as before, he took the child to a secret place where he was well cared for
Still unsatisfied, Gualtieri devised a final test. He publicly denounced Grisclda, claiming that the
pope had granted him dispensation to divorce her and to take a more deserving wife. Griselda,
wearing only a shift, was sent back to her father. All these indignities she bore without
complaint. As the day approached when Gualtieri, as it was supposed, was to take a new bride,
he asked Griselda to return to his palace, for no one knew better how to prepare for guests than
did she. Griselda returned to her former residence, now as a cleaning woman and servant, to
make preparations for her former husband’s wedding.

Gualtieri had his and Griselda’s daughter, who was now twelve years old, dressed in bridal
clothes, and he presented her to Griselda, who could not have known that this was her own child.
“What do you think of my new bride?” he asked. Griselda replied without guile, “If her wisdom
matches her beauty, then the two of you will be very happy together. At last recognizing
Griselda’s sincerity, faithfulness, and patience, Gualtieri revealed to her the trials that he had
devised to test her loyalty. With tears of joy, she received her children and once again assumed
her position as Gualtieri’s ever patient and obedient wife.