Severed Silence: Social Boundaries and Family Honor in Boccaccio’s “Tale of Lisabetta”

Abstract

[ The unhappy of the fifth story of the fourth day in Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron (ca. 1350-53), contains multiple layers of social meaning: it is simultaneously a story of mutable power structures, a mirror of the familial and cultural upheaval in fourteenth century Florence, and a parable about the dangers of choosing wealth over traditional family obligations. Such upheaval is vividly demonstrated in the tragic story of Lisabetta and Lorenzo which revolves around the possession and control of Lorenzo's severed head. The repeated revelations of Lorenzo's head, along with the decline of Lisabetta and the hasty departure of her brothers, display the inefficacy of once stable familial traditions to preserve social order. All attempts to remove the threat of social encroachment are thwarted, and the continual reappearance of the head in various situations points to a loss of power and control within the foundations of familial and social structure. Keywords: Boccaccio's Decameron ; family honor; Lisabetta; social boundaries , The unhappy Tale of Lisabetta, the fifth story of the fourth day in Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron (ca. 1350-53), contains multiple layers of social meaning: it is simultaneously a story of mutable power structures, a mirror of the familial and cultural upheaval in fourteenth century Florence, and a parable about the dangers of choosing wealth over traditional family obligations. Such upheaval is vividly demonstrated in the tragic story of Lisabetta and Lorenzo which revolves around the possession and control of Lorenzo's severed head. The repeated revelations of Lorenzo's head, along with the decline of Lisabetta and the hasty departure of her brothers, display the inefficacy of once stable familial traditions to preserve social order. All attempts to remove the threat of social encroachment are thwarted, and the continual reappearance of the head in various situations points to a loss of power and control within the foundations of familial and social structure. Keywords: Boccaccio's Decameron ; family honor; Lisabetta; social boundaries ]