The Garden and the Cave – Research Paper – MilkyWay
Search
Essays
Sign up
Sign in
Contact us
Tweet
Index
/Literature
The Garden and the Cave
Kathleen McNattDr Lundy English IV APDecember 10, 2015The Garden And The CaveBoccaccio’s “The Decameron” tells the story of a possessive king Tancred, princess Ghismonda and her forbidden lover. Her lover is exposed when her overprotective father follows her through the castle garden into an ivy and weed covered cave that houses a secret passageway to Ghismonda’s room. Symbolism is heavily carried throughout the story, and is prevalent in the tandem usage of the garden and the cave. The garden represents Ghismonda around her father: pristine, manicured, and maintained. The Cave signifies Ghismonda’s desires when she is alone: raw, unkempt, and unrestrained.        Tancred’s relationship with Ghismonda, upon closer inspection, holds an uneven balance of power. Tancred is unwilling to let his daughter marry, but finally succumbs when he meets a foreign prince and gives her away. The prince, however dies soon after they wed, and to Tancred’s delight, Ghismonda returns home. After she returns, he is even more reluctant to marry her off, and instead of seeking to fulfill her desires, she awaits for her father’s approval.  The storyteller does not directly address where Tancred’s wife has gone, but Ghismonda is the only evident object of Tancred’s affection, which may play a large role in Tancred’s reluctance to part with his daughter. Ghismonda seems to become more and more aware of the inappropriate undertones of her father’s feelings towards her, telling her father   You, following more the common opinion than the truth, more bitterly admonish me, saying that I have chosen a man of low condition, almost as if you would not have been vexed had I chosen a nobleman. (Boccacio)She is finally standing up to her father, and calling him out on his inappropriate- if not vaguely incestuous- passions for his daughter when he confronts her about his knowledge of her affair with Guiscardo. This is a big moment for Ghismonda, as she is stepping out of the  cetof rules that society during that time has dictated appropriate for the daughter of the household.
Knowledge of the expectations set forth for the women and daughters in the household allow us to understand a deeper layer of why Ghismonda responds to her father in the manner that she does. Women did not have much say in their lives at this point in time, and children were at the bottom of the social caste within the household. The father held the power, and his word was law. This pressure from society conflicted with her natural desires as she grows older.         Ghismonda, as a child, had a set mold of what was expected of her. Much like a garden, she was expected to be neat, immaculate and impeccable. Free of weeds, free of pests, and free of vermin. Her needs and desires to grow were stifled, trimmed and pruned by the too-scrutinizing eyes of her father just like the unruly buds of a flower are snipped by a groundskeeper.  She feels was not allowed to explore herself, since her father had not given her away. She’s had to conceal who she is in an attempt to be the good daughter to her father and repress her individual desires for a relationship.  She withholds speaking to her father about marrying her, seeing it as “immodest of her to solicit him in any such suit (Boccacio)”.
Continue for 4 more pages »
Read full document
Download as (for upgraded members)
Citation Generator
MLA 7
CHICAGO
(2016, 04). The Garden and the Cave. EssaysForStudent.com. Retrieved 04, 2016, from
“The Garden and the Cave” EssaysForStudent.com. 04 2016. 2016. 04 2016 <
"The Garden and the Cave." EssaysForStudent.com. EssaysForStudent.com, 04 2016. Web. 04 2016. <
"The Garden and the Cave." EssaysForStudent.com. 04, 2016. Accessed 04, 2016.
Essay Preview
By: MilkyWay
Submitted: April 10, 2016
Essay Length: 1,207 Words / 5 Pages
Paper type: Research Paper Views: 457
Report this essay
Tweet
Related Essays
Analysis of Plato's "the Allegory of the Cave"
Analysis of Plato's "The Allegory of the Cave" The moist air of the cave hovers in a homeostatic manner around the manТs conditioned skin. He
1,243 Words  |  5 Pages
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, written by Joanne Greenberg, has by far been the most difficult
1,714 Words  |  7 Pages
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, by Joanne Greenberg, is a description of a sixteen-year-old girl's battle
727 Words  |  3 Pages
Crystal Cave
People or events that appear very briefly in life may have dramatic effects on the lives of people they touch upon. Basketball coaches from the
543 Words  |  3 Pages
Similar Topics
Community Gardens
Get Access to 89,000+ Essays and Term Papers
Join 209,000+ Other Students
High Quality Essays and Documents
Sign up
© 2008–2020 EssaysForStudent.comFree Essays, Book Reports, Term Papers and Research Papers
Essays
Sign up
Sign in
Contact us
Site Map
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Facebook
Twitter