Character Analysis
Take a Look at Me...Now!
In some ways, Emilia is much like Neifile: both are young and shy and find themselves blushing on their coronation days. But the similarities pretty much end there. Emilia, unlike every other member of the brigata, isn't in love with anybody else. She is, however, currently having a very fulfilling relationship with herself.
In the song that she sings at the conclusion of the First Day, Emilia proclaims,
'In mine own beauty take I such delight/That to no other love could I/My fond affections plight.' (I.Conclusion.69)
She loves to dance and sing so that the others can watch her. She's unabashedly self-centered and perhaps that's exactly the right quality for someone whose name means "she who allures." But despite her healthy self-confidence, she tells one of the most woman-hating stories in the work: the tale about King Solomon's advice about the occasional necessity of brutally beating your wife into submission.
Breaking the Rules
Emilia declares an open theme for her reign on Day Nine. She says that limiting the topic makes people into yoked oxen, so she wants to free things up and let everyone graze around freely in the meadows. There are comparisons between herself and Dioneo on this score. That may be, but Emilia's no Dioneo. She lacks his charisma and extroverted good will as well as his diplomatic skills.
Emilia's Stories
Emilia tells the following stories:
The Good Man and the Inquisitor (I.6)
Madame Beritola (II.6)
Tedaldo degli Elisei (III.7)
Simona and Pasquino (IV.7)
Gostanza and Martuccio (V.2)
Fresco and his Niece (VI.8)
Gianni and the Ghost (VII.1)
The Parish Priest and the Widow (VIII.4)
Solomon (IX.9)
Messer Ansaldo (X.5)