Boccaccio

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and fetched the coat to give back to the priest. (pg. 559) This is an accurate representation of the attitudes of the fourteenth century. Thomas Aquinas, a writer of the fourteenth century, advanced the idea of women as being passive and submissive. (Spielvogel 406) This idea was widely accepted and believed by most people and women began to fit into the role of obedient housewife.
Another important characteristic of lifestyles in the fourteenth century is that of male dominance in the society and workforce. This is represented in both the first and second stories in The Decameron. In both cases, the woman is left alone at home because her husband is away on business travel. In the first story, an exchange of money takes place between two men. It would be considered improper at this time for the man's wife to make such a decision because she is considered suitable for housework. In the second story, again a woman's husband is off on business travel while she is left at ...

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