Friday, October 28, 2011

Decameron 6


9.2. – The physical appearance of the Abbess changes the story completely, instead of getting reprimanded for her actions she get gets to spend time with her lover. All the nuns are all allowed to have lovers so it changes the outcome and the nuns entirely. Without the abbess making the mistake that she did, the story would be of a nun getting disciplined rater than being able to enjoy her lover.

9.3. – I would argue that Boccaccio is shedding light on the fact that many men did abuse their wives and it was very common for this to happen in the middle ages. He shows that women could often be mistreated badly.

9.5. – I believe he does this so that Mona Tessa can get some sort of revenge. He reverses their rolls from Tessa being abused and beaten to Calandrino being the one yelled at and beaten. It shows that Boccaccio likes to put power in the woman’s hands not only giving the men power.

9.6. – I believe that Boccaccio once again shows how cleverness and wit can get you out of almost any situation, and usually the women are using this wit and cleverness to manipulate the men so that they can do whatever they like. I relates the story 7.5, because one again in that story a woman uses her cleverness so that she can enjoy her lover whenever she wants. It shows that women are a lot smarter then the men believe and the women are often able to take advantage of this.

10.10. – I believe that the relationship between Griselda and Gualleri is completely different from the relationship of Mona Tessa and Calandrino. I believe that Griselda and Gualleri are in love and actually care for each other where as Calandrino and Mona Tessa are not, because they often physically harm each other. I do not believe that Gualleri’s actions towards Griselda are acceptable but there is a reason he does this and they wind up happy at the conclusion of the story.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Decameron 5


7.3. - The central theme that Bocaccio relays is the theme of trickery and foolishness. The brother tricks the woman into sleeping with him and then the woman tricks the husband into thinking that the Brother is helping the child when really they are sleeping together. Bocaccio shows how foolish both the wife and husband are because they are so easily tricked.

7.5. – Bocaccio shows that men used to be very jealous and they would lock their wives up as if they were pets. This used to be very common among families and woman wouldn’t even be allowed out of the house. Today I would say that we have progressed as a society. These types of things still happen today but it is a lot easier for women to have different chances in life. Women are now able to get divorces if this happens to them also so I would argue that our society has progressed from these times.

8.7 – I believe that the reader is supposed to tale Rinieri’s side because the woman made him wait for her in the snow and he is just getting the same revenge by making her stand in the sun for a whole day. Elena tricks him first and Rineri just takes his revenge. Bocaccio creates empathy for both characters and he does this by making them both go through bad experiences.

8.8 – The theme of Passion is still celebrated today but it is not a prevalent as it used to be. I don’t know if I could make a connection with today’s worl because it is very uncommon for men to share wives and women to share husbands unless it is a polygamist colony which is not a modern day norm.

Monday, October 24, 2011

All About My Mother


Almodovar’s film “All About My Mother” is one of the most peculiar films I have ever seen. Almodovar tells the story of a desperate mother, a transvestite, a successful actress, and a pregnant nun all in an exciting, meaningful plot. The movie establishes a community of troubled woman, all with their unique problems. They all have their different troubles but they are able to use each other for support and help and grow a love for each other. Manula takes in Rosa when she needs help with her baby, and Huma hiring Agrado to help her. The women create a friendship to help support each other because they all lack a male role in their life. None of the main women in the story have dominating men in their life and because of this they share a deeper bond.
         The movie title could be referring to any mother, or anyone because at the end of the movie Almodovar dedicates the book to "To all actresses who have played actresses. To all women who act. To men to act and become women. To all the people who want to be mothers. To my mother." IN the title of the movie and the dedication it shows that there is a deeper meaning to the movie and that it has a deep meaning to Almodovar. IN my opinion it is dedicated and names after any mother that struggled, or any man who decided to become a woman, or anyone that acts to seek the life they yearn for. There is a deeper meaning to the movie and the themes behind it, and every single element and scene of the movie is created purposely by Almodovar. To the eye, all the transsexual, bi-sexual, lesbian themes might seem a little overwhelming but Almodovar puts it all together at the ending of the movies. Almodovar’s film “All About My Mother” is a movie that everyone should watch to learn that there is a deeper meaning in the things people do and it’s not just because their “freaks”, their just like any other person and Almodovar portrays this in his film. 

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Decameron 4


5.8. – I believe that in this story it is the women who have the power. In both cases the woman had the ability to choose who they wanted to marry, putting the power in their hands. The two men seek their lovers but their lovers are very rude to them and do not accept them, they believe that they are too good for these men. In this story the power is in the hands of the women.

5.9. – My interpretation is that she would rather have an honorable respected man who had no money than have an average man who had money. It shows that more went into her decision than just the amount of money the other person has to offer her.

5.10. – These quotes tie into gender reversal because in most of the stories we read it is the man going out and cheating on the wife at a double standard because she cannot do the same. In this book the tables are turned and the woman is cheating while the man desires for men rather than her. In this book the woman is the more powerful figure and the man just seems to be along but he has no real power in the story.

6.7. – This story shows that women have power because once again like in story 5.10. the wife tricks the husband so that she can fulfill her own desires. She believes that she has the right to love another man because this man loves her more than any other that has ever tried to love her. She stands up for this right because she lays with him. When she is brought into court she explains that she fulfills her husbands desires but he does not fulfill hers so he is allowed to sleep with other men.

6.10. – The brother uses his with to trick the people. They expect to see an angel feather but when he only finds coals he tricks the people into believing that they were the coals that a Saint was “roasted” on. He out-wits the people because if he is not able to show them anything then he will no longer be resected so his trick saves him.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Decameron 3


3.3. – This story shows how the woman uses the friar to get in contact with the man she lusts for. This story shows how people are easily manipulated by making them think your intentions are good. Both the man and the lady know how easy it is to manipulate the friar so they use false information to trick him into thinking the woman in innocent when really she wants the man she complains to him about.

3.6. – Ricciardo uses Catella’s jealousy against her to make her do what he wants. Ricciardo makes Catella think that her husband is cheating on her and no longer loves her. She is tricked into believing his lies and eventually he gets her to sleep with him because she thinks its her husband waiting for another man. He uses her insecurities and her emotions to manipulate her into doing what he wants.

3.9. – Giletta is a rich woman who is a doctor. She uses her skills to help heal the king and then in exchange for healing him she is allowed to choose any husband she wants. She knew that she could heal him so he used her talent to get married to Beltrimo.

4.3. – This is the story of how three sisters fall in love with 3 different men, and these men devise a plan to sneak the sisters away in the night to live with them forever. They all believed that they loved each other and they lived happily for a short time until Restagnone loses interest with one of the sisters and begins to court another woman. This façade of love shows that he was not really in love with her but when the other sister sleeps with the count her husband is so angry he kids the wife. This story shows the difference between fake love and true love.

4.9. – Revenge plays out much differently in this story than in the other stories. The wife has an affair with her husband’s best friend, in vengeance he kills his friend and feeds his heart to his wife. When she finds this out she jumps out the window and kills herself, leaving her husband alone, the ultimate revenge. In this story it is the wives fault but her husband pays the price because of the actions he takes for vengeance.