How a Plague Can Save Humanity: 

Unveiling the Truth in Boccaccio’s The Decameron

The question I pursued in my thesis was the symbolic significance of the Plague’s presence in Boccaccio's The Decameron, and how it can give us insight to the flaws and moral struggles of humanity. I was particularly interested in this topic in juxtaposition to the modern pandemic.

Boccaccio is a comedic author who wrote during the mid 14th century. Having survived the Bubonic Plague that struck his hometown of Florence, Italy, as well as most of Europe, he took to writing The Decameron. On the surface, The Decameron is a collection of one hundred stories set during the peak of the Bubonic Plague. Its hilarious and curious tales are meant to provide surface entertainment and a deeper guidance for Boccaccio’s audience.

Through the use of close reading principles, and a knowledge of symbolism, Greek mythology, and Biblical allusions, I was able to develop my thesis as follows:

In The Decameron, the Plague is not just an illness, but an unveiling of the deception and corruption in the world, particularly in the Catholic Church in the mid 1300's. Burdened with flaws, the earthly Church proved itself to be anything but divine, making poor decisions that should have been left to God. While the hilarious stories exploit the moral and sexual sins of the clergy for the sake of entertainment, they also serve as a reminder of the hypocrisy and severity of corruption that the Church lived by. Clearly needing a moral reset, the Church is shown to be completely dismantled by the event of the Plague, but the stories highlight a hope of rebirth in Christianity and its leaders' morality. By imposing great suffering and fear, as well as a break down of society, a plague offers the ideal circumstances for humanity to start over. 

The Decameron further reveals that a plague is not just an earthly affliction, but symbolic of the spiritual trials that God gives each person; how they endure and emerge from this suffering reveals whether or not they are a true Christian. The repeated emphasis that suffering can result in happiness can be compared to the Christian belief that God promises a divine plan for His suffering people, so long as they keep their faith in Him. Even though Boccaccio appears to be a critic of Christianity, this deeper reading of The Decameron suggests that Boccaccio is actually interested in what a true Christian should be. His criticism of the Catholic Church’s behavior is necessary to reveal this.