Character Analysis
The members of our brigata are too good to be true. All the women are smart, beautiful, witty, charming, and proper. The men are all handsome, witty, intelligent, and articulate. Everyone can dance and sing. As they stroll through the woods and gardens picking flowers and enjoying the gentle breezes, they're a bit unreal. In fact, most Decameron scholars see them as symbolic characters—idealized figures who represent temperance, courtliness, intelligence and other virtuous qualities. They're a pretty self-indulgent little group, determined to forget their worries by hiding out in a beautiful country estate while the rest of the Florentines are looking at bodies piled in the streets. It's a pretty hilarious contrast to see these elegant medieval gentlemen and ladies telling and listening to the naughtiest, coarsest stories you can imagine.
None of these characters are really fully developed—the stories themselves are the stars of this show, not the storytellers. The ladies are all a little different, but it's really hard to tell most of them apart. Nevertheless, we'll try to tease out a few qualities of each of our little band.