1) 5:8- Do you believe it is the women who have ‘power’ in this story, or the men? Explain using evidence from the text.
Nastagioung loves a young girl from the Traversari family very much. He goes out of his way to impress her and win over her love. He even goes as far to squander away all of his fortune for her. Even though Nastagio does all of this for the young girl, his love goes reciprocated. While it might appear that the young girl has the power in the story because she is capable of seducing Nastagio into doing anything for her, I think that it is the man who truly has the power. When Nastagio invites the young girl for dinner, she sees the other girl who had been eaten by the dogs. Therefore, she instantly agrees to marry Nastagio to escape from the same fate as the other woman. In which case, it is Nastagio who truly holds the power in the story because he is able to gain what he wants.
2) 5:9- What is your interpretation of the quote, “…I would much rather have a man who lacks money than money that lacks a man”? (pg. 431)
Just like in the first story, the main character, Federigo, loves a young woman, but his love also goes unrequited. While Nastagio was very wealthy to begin with, Federigo is not. All Frederigo has is a falcon which he gives to his love because he insists that he would do anything for her. Personally, I think that this quote goes against the grain of the gender and social stereotypes during this time. Typically he social ranks were very rigid and to marry someone from a different social class was obscene. This quote shows that who someone is matters more than what someone has. The young girl agrees to marry Frederigo because she sees that he is a generous, and resourceful person who does not want her for her money. He just wants to love her and make her happy.
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