How we cite our quotes: (Day.Story.Page)
Quote #1
So he crossed the sea to Ireland as best he could and eventually arrived at Strangford, where he entered the service of one of the feudatories of a rural baron, performing all the usual tasks of a groom or a servant. And there he remained for many years, unrecognized by anyone, and compelled to endure great hardship and discomfort. (II.8.154, Elissa's tale of Walter, the Count of Antwerp)
Walter, Count of Antwerp has been falsely accused of attempted rape by the French king's daughter-in-law and has been exiled to wander the world in search of his fate. Though innocent, Walter suffers the loss of his family and his social status. The point of the story isn't to depress you to death. In fact, it's meant to encourage hope. After a lifetime of suffering Walter gets everything back and more, a medieval Job. Fortune's Wheel at work. Still, it could've spun a little faster…
Quote #2
But because he supposed her to be of low estate, he dared not ask his parents to allow him to marry her. Moreover, since he was afraid of being reproached with falling in love with a commoner, he did all he could to keep his love a secret, and thus he was afflicted with sharper pangs than any he would have suffered had he brought it out into the open. Eventually, his suffering became so acute that he fell seriously ill. (II.8.155, Elissa's tale of Walter, Count of Antwerp)
This is a familiar theme—pining to the death for unrequited love. For Jeannette's foster brother, this bout of illness is brought on by mental torment over the hopelessness of his marriage choice. There are drama kings as well as queens, we guess. When your love ain't around, don't they know it's the End of the World?
Quote #3
[...] as you are perfectly well aware, all vices can bring enormous sorrow to those who practise them, and in many cases they also bring affliction to others. But it seems to me that the one [vice] that leads us into danger more swiftly than any other is the vice of anger. For anger is nothing more than a sudden, thoughtless impulse, which, set in motion by a feeling of resentment, expels all reason, plunges the mind's eye into darkness, and sets our hearts ablaze with raging fury. (IV.3.313, Lauretta's story of the three young men who elope to Crete with 3 sisters)
Lauretta's story of three sisters from hell and their "lucky" bridegrooms highlights problems with what we'd now call "impulse control." In Boccaccio's time (and in theological thought of our time), Anger is considered one of the seven deadly or mortal sins. Dante even creates a special level in Hell for those who practice it. The suffering here goes both ways: the person who feels anger suffers immense pain and then inflicts pain on others.