Here's how The Conversation reported on the contemporary relevance of this centuries-old piece of literature:
Following the 1348 Black Death in Italy, the Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio wrote a collection of 100 novellas titled, “The Decameron.” These stories, though fictional, give us a window into medieval life during the Black Death – and how some of the same fissures opened up between the rich and the poor. Cultural historians today see “The Decameron” as an invaluable source of information on everyday life in 14th-century Italy.
. . . . . . . .
. . . Boccaccio describes the rich secluding themselves at home, where they enjoy quality wines and provisions, music and other entertainment. The very wealthiest – whom Boccaccio describes as “ruthless” – deserted their neighborhoods altogether, retreating to comfortable estates in the countryside, “as though the plague was meant to harry only those remaining within their city walls.”
Meanwhile, the middle class or poor, forced to stay at home, “caught the plague by the thousand right there in their own neighborhood, day after day” and swiftly passed away. Servants dutifully attended to the sick in wealthy households, often succumbing to the illness themselves. Many, unable to leave Florence and convinced of their imminent death, decided to simply drink and party away their final days in nihilistic revelries, while in rural areas, laborers died “like brute beasts rather than human beings; night and day, with never a doctor to attend them” (read more).
This sounds a lot like this class' criticism of the today's ultra-wealthy, criticism that rightly asked, "All in it Together?" Maybe this is a another incidental benefit of pandemics, though. They expose the persistent societal flaws and inequalities we spent most of time disguising. So, although we might not take sufficient action to address these problems, we'll find it more difficult to lie to ourselves about their existence. That's something, right? What do you think?
Also, check out this interesting StoryMaps project that was inspired by the contemporary relevance of The Decameron:
The story map "The Decameron in the Time of Coronavirus" can be accessed directly here:
"although we might not take sufficient action to address these problems, we'll find it more difficult to lie to ourselves about their existence" -- those of us for whom truth and reality still matter will, but of course that's the problem: too many of our peers repudiate "the reality-based community". But I'll join you in hoping (without faith, but with a degree of confidence greater than zero) that it still matters to enough of us that the alt-facts crowd will come out of this experience mocked and once again marginalized (or at least outvoted).
ReplyDeleteCouple of other items in the current literature of Plague, spotted on aldaily:
As the bubonic plague ravaged Florence, Boccaccio observed the putrid crisis at ground level. What did social distancing look like in 1347?... more » https://quillette.com/2020/03/28/social-distancing-during-the-black-death/
The Plague is Camus’s tale of illness and quarantine, yes, but its moral is one of inoculation through shared consciousness... more » https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/16/books/review/the-plague-albert-camus-coronavirus.html
And:
DeleteWhat the Great Pandemic Novels Teach Us
People have always responded to epidemics by spreading rumor and false information and portraying the disease as foreign and brought in with malicious intent.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/23/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-orhan-pamuk.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage§ion=Contributors
Im reminded that history repeats itself reading this. There are definite correlations between the plague tales and today's epidemic circumstances.
ReplyDeleteOn the wealthy I don't know what I would expect differently of them, its a noble act to help those around us but depending on what support you give it can be a health risk, so I can only really condemn them for selfish acts that harm those around them. If given the chance how many of us -wealthy or poor- would do differently from their acts?
I would hope a good number but there is no way to tell unless we could somehow simulate each person's moral choices in the same circumstance.
It occurs to me after reading this that the fertility crisis in A Handmaid's Tale could easily be considered a society altering plague of sorts.
ReplyDelete