The Patient Griselda Myth : Looking at Late Medieval and Early Modern European Literature

From the 14th until the 19th century the last novella of Boccaccio's Decameron, also known as the Griselda story, has been translated and adapted countless times in many European languages. This story's success can be explained by considering it a myth and analysing how this myth engages with contemporary discourses, such as the definition of the ideal wife, the querelle des femmes, the socio-political consequences of social exogamy, and tyranny. The Patient Griselda myth tells the story of a marquis who is reluctant to get married, but, under pressure from his subjects, agrees to take a wife and chooses a poor young country girl for her virtues. Once married, he doubts his wife?s per-fection and therefore tests her for more than ten years by taking away her chil-dren, pretending to have them killed, and by repudiating her. Finally, the marquis asks her to prepare his second wedding with a young noble lady. This second wedding never occurs, since the marquis finally reveals that the bride and her brother are Griselda?s children; what is actually celebrated is the family reunion and Griselda?s patience. This tale, which to our modern perceptions may appear horrible, fascinated Europe from the late fourteenth century until the nineteenth century, as the many translations and adaptations it underwent attes