Sunday, September 9, 2007

The Decameron

I thought that the Decameron portrayed Arab civilization and Muslims in a surprisingly positive light. No where was there condemnation of their lifestyle nor the idea that they were poor uneducated camel riding nomads. I was also very surprised that the use of magic was considered acceptable. They used magic to transport a man into a church and this was considered not black magic or the work of the devil but a miracle and celebrated. I like it. I was also very impressed at the relationship development between Torello and Saladin. The men cried when they departed from each other, bestowed each other with gifts and even kissed and this too was an acceptable form of affection. There are no homosexual implications between the two men but still the sensitivity and compassion for each from the two men is refreshing and moving.

3 comments:

John Novak said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
John Novak said...

John Novak said...

From what I understand, not all cultures are (or have been) as awkward about physical contact as we Americans are today. But, it also interesting that Messer Torello and Saladin both behave the way they did because it shows that that wasn't just a middle eastern practice, but apparently an Italian one as well.

I was also thinking about your quote,
"I was also very surprised that the use of magic was considered acceptable. They used magic to transport a man into a church and this was considered not black magic or the work of the devil but a miracle and celebrated."
I also though this was very curious. My first gut feeling was that the Church would not respond to this sort of thing (magic) as they did in the story, and it was the author (not the church) who was OK with magic. But, Chaucer is very heavily into astrology, and was apparently a devout Christian. It may very well have been the case that magic was considered (at that time), not to be work of the devil, but to be on the same par as science.

Diane said...

So when did Americans become so awkward about physical contact?? I think the why is possibly related to religion but perhaps not??