• Medieval LOLs: Boccaccio’s ‘Decameron’, Part Two

  • Oct 18 2024
  • Length: 15 mins
  • Podcast

Medieval LOLs: Boccaccio’s ‘Decameron’, Part Two

  • Summary

  • Mary and Irina resume their discussion of Boccaccio’s Decameron, focusing on three stories of female agency, deception and desire. Alibech, an aspiring hermitess, is tricked into indulging her powerful sexual urges; Petronella combines business and pleasure at the expense of her husband and lover; while Lydia demonstrates her devotion by killing hawks and pulling teeth. As Mary and Irina discuss, these stories exemplify the ambiguous depiction of women in the Decameron, where the world is powered by rapacious female lusts, sex has no consequences and conventional morality is suspended.


    Read more on the Decameron in the LRB: https://lrb.me/decameronpod


    Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series including Mary and Irina's twelve-part series Medieval Beginnings, sign up:

    Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/medlolapplesignup

    In other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/medlolscsignup

    Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Medieval LOLs: Boccaccio’s ‘Decameron’, Part Two

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.