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Francesco’s Wife
Zima, the protagonist of Elissa’s third tale (III, 5), earned his name, which means “the Dandy,” because of his elegant dress and grooming. He loves Francesco’s Wife but can’t get her attention until he gives Francesco Vergellesi a fine horse in exchange for a private conversation with her. His speech is stuffed with the themes and motifs of fin’amors, and his perseverance in the face of her uncanny silence wins her affection in the end.
Zima Quotes in The Decameron
The The Decameron quotes below are all either spoken by Zima or refer to Zima. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Day 3: Fifth Tale
Quotes
Dearest beloved, since I am yours and you alone have the power to fortify my soul with some vestige of hope as I languish in the fiery flames of love, I beseech you, as your most humble servant, to show me some mercy and mitigate the harshness you have been wont to display towards me in the past. Your compassion will console me, enabling me to claim that it is to your beauty that I owe, not only my love, but also my very life, which will assuredly fail unless your proud spirit yields to my entreaties, and then indeed people will be able to say that you have killed me. Now, leaving aside the fact that my death would not enhance your reputation, I believe, also, that your conscience would occasionally trouble you and you would be sorry for having been the cause of it.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Decameron LitChart as a printable PDF.
Zima Quotes in The Decameron
The The Decameron quotes below are all either spoken by Zima or refer to Zima. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Day 3: Fifth Tale
Quotes
Dearest beloved, since I am yours and you alone have the power to fortify my soul with some vestige of hope as I languish in the fiery flames of love, I beseech you, as your most humble servant, to show me some mercy and mitigate the harshness you have been wont to display towards me in the past. Your compassion will console me, enabling me to claim that it is to your beauty that I owe, not only my love, but also my very life, which will assuredly fail unless your proud spirit yields to my entreaties, and then indeed people will be able to say that you have killed me. Now, leaving aside the fact that my death would not enhance your reputation, I believe, also, that your conscience would occasionally trouble you and you would be sorry for having been the cause of it.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
