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In Filostrato’s fourth tale (IV, 9), Roussillon’s Wife follows the dictates of fin’amors when she falls in love with her husband’s best friend, Guillaume de Cabestanh, because of his gallantry and nobility. When she discovers that Guillaume de Roussillon has murdered her lover and fed her his heart, she breaks from the feminine stereotypes in The Decameron and demonstrates a similar level of virile self-control to Ghismonda (IV, 1). She calmly rebukes her husband for his cruelty, then takes her life by throwing herself from a window. After her death, she’s buried with her lover in a shared tomb.
Get the entire The Decameron LitChart as a printable PDF.
Roussillon’s Wife Character Timeline in The Decameron
The timeline below shows where the character Roussillon’s Wife appears in The Decameron. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Day 4: Ninth Tale
...Guillaume de Roussillon and Guillaume de Cabestanh. Cabestanh happens to fall hopelessly in love with Roussillon’s Wife ; flattered by the attentions of such a noble man, she reciprocates and the two...
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Roussillon’s Wife , anticipating Cabestanh’s visit, is perturbed when her husband returns home alone. Roussillon gives the...
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After a heavy silence, Roussillon’s Wife asks what Roussillon has given to her to eat. He confesses it was the heart...
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