Italian Literature Commons^™

The Voice Of Dioneo: Women In Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron, Caitlin E. Williams

Honors Scholar Theses

Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron, a famous piece of Italian literature written during the early Renaissance period, has created much debate among critics about its ambiguous position as a feminist, or anti-feminist piece of literature. This study seeks to explore this popular debate by examining Dioneo, one of the ten narrators Boccaccio creates for this collection. Dioneo is commonly referred to as the main voice of Boccaccio, or as the leader of the narrators. His character provides some of the most feminine stories within the Decameron as well as the most mysogynistic tale. Dioneo acts as a transgressor throughout the piece …