The Impatient Camila: A Cervantine Twist on Boccaccio's Patient Griselda
Presentation
Overview
Overview
Description
This paper, utilizing the well-known final story of the Decameron as the basis for comparison, explores how the female protagonist Camila in El curioso impertinente, unlike her literary predecessor Griselda, ultimately loses patience and fails the test of loyalty orchestrated by her husband. Special attention will be given to Camila’s transformation from object to agent, as well as to the contrasting motivations and behavior of their respective husbands Anselmo and Gualtieri. Finally, since a Petrarchan translation of Griselda’s story had supplanted Boccaccio’s original and served as the template for many 15th- and 16th-century translations, it is unclear in what form Cervantes was familiar with this tale, so there will be some discussion of the various versions circulating within the Italian and Iberian Peninsulas.
