Character Analysis
Dioneo has two possible namesakes: Dione, mother of Aphrodite (goddess of love and beauty), and Dionysus, the god of wine, partying, and reckless abandon. Either way, he's a good-time guy. He's sometimes interpreted allegorically as the Appetite/Lust part of the soul in the classical Greek three-part understanding of the soul. If you were only to look at the stories that Dioneo tells, you might be tempted to agree with this. For the most part, they're bawdy in the extreme (who can forget the hermit Rustico teaching the young Alibech how to put "the Devil" into "Hell"?) and often make the ladies worry that they've risked their reputations by inviting him along. One of Dionysus's nicknames was "the liberator," because he encouraged people to leave their conventional ideas and behavior behind and explore new and more exciting possibilities.
It's actually Dioneo's impulse for exuberant expression that prompts Pampinea to suggest that they come up with a scheme for occupying themselves innocently. He says,
'I know not what you intend to do with your troubles; my own I left inside the city gates when I departed thence a short while ago in your company. Hence you may either prepare to join me in as much laughter, song and merriment as your sense of decorum will allow, or else you may give me leave to go back for my troubles and live in the afflicted city.' (I.Introduction.20)
Dioneo charmingly lets them know that he isn't going to tolerate any buzzkills on this trip. He wants to make sure they leave their troubles behind—after all, that's why they left Florence, right? It seems like he has the right idea when he mentions "decorum," but Pampinea and the other ladies don't necessarily know what he considers decorum. And at the end of Day Five, when he offers the most vulgar song titles he can think of to the Queen, they probably have good reasons to doubt his intentions.
Little do they know that Dioneo will become the self-designated guide and mood regulator of the crew. He's got a lot of what we'd call emotional intelligence. He asks to tell his stories last every day because he'll be able to gauge the mood of the group and tell a story to balance things out.
The Devil That You Know
If you have any friends, you know Dioneo. He's good-looking and charming, can say outrageous things to his oldest, most conservative relative and they'll still pat him on the back and hand him twenty bucks. He's the life of the party because he can sing and play the lute (okay, in your friend's case, it's probably a guitar) and he can convince you to do anything because his logic and wit are razor sharp.
Dioneo's just like this. He pushes the envelope with the brigata. They've earned their freedom by taking the first big step and leaving Florence without anything but their own moral compasses to guide them, and Dioneo's determined to take the next logical step and initiate a small campaign for freedom of speech.
First, he begs to be released from telling stories that conform to the daily theme. Then, during his own reign, he chooses a theme that's sure to scandalize the young ladies: pranks that wives play on their husbands, whether or not they're exposed and punished. Sure enough, he gets the response he expects. In his own take on the situation, we hear echoes of someone else we know:
'Are you not aware that because of the chaos of the present age, the judges have deserted the courts, the laws of God and man are in abeyance, and everyone is given ample licence to preserve his life as best he may? This being so, if you go slightly beyond the bounds of decorum in your conversation, with the object, not of behaving improperly but of giving pleasure to yourselves and others, I do not see how anyone in the future can have cause to condemn you for it.' (VI.Conclusion.478-79)
In other words, all bets are off when you could be dead tomorrow. Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, etc.
Yep, Dioneo sounds a whole lot like Boccaccio defending his choice of topic and his use of racy stories. And like Boccaccio, Dioneo claims that impropriety can only happen if an evil intent is there. It would be tempting to spin a whole essay on how Dioneo really is Boccaccio, but it's enough to say this: Dioneo's ideas about pleasure meshes well with Boccaccio's purpose in writing The Decameron. After all, the stories are meant to provide entertainment and solace for the lovelorn members of the brigata as well.
A Virgil to Their Dante
At the end of the first day, it's clear that Dioneo is chafing at the thought of conforming to topic. We're not sure if he's imagining how much of a downer Filostrato's gonna be, but he seems determined to protect his right to happiness. Filomena knows him well enough to understand that his heart's in the right place:
[…] knowing what a jovial and entertaining fellow he was, and clearly perceiving that he was only asking this favour so that, if the company should grow weary of hearing people talk, he could enliven the proceedings [...]." (I.Conclusion.68)
While Pampinea leads the group with her good judgment and rational behavior, Dioneo's a little closer to a creative director/events planner. It's not clear whether he's doing this for his own benefit or for selfless reasons, but Dioneo sticks to his original promise pretty fiercely: if they're not there to laugh, they may as well go home and face the plague.
Nowhere does this self-conferred responsibility come more into play than at the end of Day Four, after the other members of the brigata have told their tales of unhappy loves. Dioneo invokes his privilege to go off topic and steps up to control the collateral emotional damage:
'These sorrowful accounts of ill-starred loves have brought so much affliction to my eyes and heart (to say nothing of yours, dear ladies) that I have been longing for them to come to an end. Unless I were to add another sorry tale to this gruesome collection (and Heaven forbid that I should), they are now, thank God, over and done with.' (IV.10.353)
Dioneo sees this role as a moral imperative. If he can't restore levity to the group, they just might be sunk. If you think that we're being too dramatic about this, remember that Filostrato has to apologize for inflicting the sorrowful topic on the crew. They forgive him, but it might just be because Dioneo kept the day from being a total downer.
What's Up with Griselda?
Having said that, it makes us wonder what inspires Dioneo to tell his final story about Griselda and her sadistic husband Gualtieri. Interestingly, Dioneo chooses this moment to comply with the theme (Generosity or Munificence) and it seems like it'll be a good fit for his charming and easygoing temperament. But the only thing that saves his story from tragedy is that no one physically dies (miraculously). The psychological abuse and suffering that Griselda undergoes seems inexcusable and this unbearably painful tale feels completely off kilter for a guy like Dioneo.
But Dioneo knows what he's doing. The following day, the brigata will be heading back to Florence. They need to be brought back from their happy but unreal world in the right frame of mind to face the tragic realities of the city. Not much could have changed in ten days. This sobering story is just the thing to bring home the fact that you need faith and patience to survive life's many challenges.
Fun fact: Rock star Jim Morrison strongly identified with Dionysus—sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll. And you all know (or at least your parents know) how all that that worked out. Regardless, "Light my Fire" could be the theme song of The Decameron.
Dioneo's Stories
Dioneo tells the following stories:
The Monk and the Abbot (I.4)
Paganino and Ricciardo (II.10)
Alibech and Rustico (III.10)
Mazzeo the Doctor (IV.10)
Pietro di Vinciolo (V.10)
Friar Cipolla (VI.10)
Tingoccio and Meuccio (VII.10)
Salabaetto (VIII.10)
Don Gianni (IX.10)
Griselda (X.10)