The concept of woman in Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron

When it comes to women in the Italian Litterature, Dante's woman, Beatrice, comes to mind first. This woman is a pure being and with her angelic appearance, is she seen as a vecihle to reach God. Women whose existence takes on a concrete identity instead of a mystical element appear with Giovanni Boccaccio. Gathering women at the center of the Decameron, the author broke new ground in the prose tradition in 14th century Italian literature. Boccaccio, who had the opportunity to observe people from all walks of life throughout his life, reflected this to his characters in his work. This is the reason why it can accommodate many different people such as noble, peasant, aristocratic, beautiful, ugly, rich and poor. For Boccaccio, woman no longer becomes a tool but a individual. Despite many factors such as religious pressure in 14th century Italy, the female character in literature appears so prominently and strongly for the first time. Boccaccio showed the reader what the woman, who has never been told about the reality that she describes freely on the basis of human beings, has done or can do. The woman here is a free, cunning creature who can manage her destiny and naturally has sexual desires like men. This thesis consists of three main parts. In the first part, information about the life and works of the author is given. In the second part, the importance of the book called Decameron in Italian literature is emphasized. Finally, it was analyzed how Boccaccio included women in his book Decameron.