Guccio Imbratta Character Analysis

Guccio Imbratta appears in Emilia’s fourth tale (IV, 7) and Dioneo’s sixth (VI, 10). In Emilia’s tale, he is friends with Pasquino, Stramba, Atticciato, and Malagevole, and assists in the burial of Pasquino and Simona. In Dioneo’s tale, he is Friar Cipolla’s servant, and he goes by several names, including Guccio Imbratta (“dirty Guccio”), Guccio Balena (“Guccio the Whale”), and Guccio Porco (“Guccio the Pig”). In general, he is a parody of a lower-class man. Friar Cipolla labels him, among other things, dishonest, disgusting, lazy, disobedient, argumentative, careless, and clumsy. His clothing is tattered and dirty and his beard is greasy, but this doesn’t stop him from looking for a wife. Yet, his tastes in women are as uncouth as he is, and in Dioneo’s tale he courts an unattractive and coarse kitchen maid called Nuta.