It Could Happen Here: Book Club — A Story from Boccaccio’s Decameron

Episode Date: March 8, 2026
Host: (Unnamed but in the It Could Happen Here collective style)
Book Club Selection: Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron, Day 3, Story 8

Episode Overview

This Book Club episode takes a witty, irreverent look at one of the stories from Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron, a medieval collection known for its bawdy humor, anti-clerical tone, and exploration of the absurdities and joys of human behavior—even in the gloom of the Black Death. The host summarizes the story, reads excerpts, and reflects on the ongoing relevance and subversive fun of medieval storytelling.
Theme: Ruses in Courtship — Specifically, a tale involving jealousy, trickery, and a comically elaborate plot centered on a foolish husband, a scheming abbot, and a clever wife.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introduction to The Decameron

• Background: Written in Italian between 1348–53, The Decameron is structured as 10 people sheltering from the plague who fill the days telling stories.
• The stories are known for themes of love, wit, practical jokes, erotic situations, and satirical lessons about life.
• Contrast with Dante: While Dante’s Inferno is about the afterlife and divine law, The Decameron is all about people muddling through daily life—the "Human Comedy."
• Anti-clerical Vibe: The host notes the prominent anti-church satire, pointing out the story was “banned by the Catholic Church on and off throughout the 1500s” and jokes, “Whomst amongst us wasn’t banned by the Catholic church throughout the 1500s?” (06:43).

Story Summary: Ferrando and the Abbess’s Ruse

High-Level Plot Overview (07:30):

• Ferrando is a “shitty” and not-very-intelligent husband who is also extremely jealous.
• Ferrando’s wife, desperate for relief, confides in a local abbot for help.
• The abbot, “very pious in all things except women,” seizes the opportunity for seduction.
• With the wife’s cooperation, they fake Ferrando’s death using a sleeping potion, bury him, and then move his comatose body to a pitch-black mausoleum.
• A monk stationed there convinces Ferrando (upon waking) he’s actually in purgatory, and this ruse continues for six months.
• In Ferrando’s absence, the abbot and wife carry on an affair; she becomes pregnant.
• When the pregnancy becomes evident, Ferrando is “resurrected,” still believing the story, and returns home a reformed, if still gullible, husband.

Quote:
“I think it’s really funny. I think it’s a good story... It’s just about people who are trying to live their life and enjoy the good times while they can, which is apt for a plague story.” — Host (04:30)

Detailed Storytelling & Key Moments

The Setup: Host’s Preface (04:45–09:45)

• The host gives a “period-accurate” high-level summary, warning of “spoilers.”
• Comments on the archaic prose and the intention to help listeners follow the twists (“there’s like, some like, thees and vows and doists and meesee mythos…” - 08:07).

The Wife’s Confession to the Abbot (16:30)

• The wife laments:

  “Sir, if God had given me a right husband, or had given me none, it would belike be easy to me... But I, having regard to what Forondo is, and to his witlessness, may style myself a widow. And yet I am married.” (16:58)

• The abbot responds, feigning piety but plotting seduction:

  “Daughter, I can well believe that it must be a sore annoy for a fair and dainty dame such as you are, to have a blockhead to husband, but a much greater meseemeth to have a jealous man.” (17:52)

• The abbot’s proposition is shameless:

  “You must give me your love, and vouchsafe me satisfaction of yourself, for whom I am all afire with love and languishment.” (18:40)

The Ruse: Ferrando Goes to “Purgatory” (21:43)

• The abbot slips Ferrando a sleeping powder, fakes his death, and buries him.

• Ferrando is moved to a dark prison and, when he awakes, a monk “gives him a sound drubbing” and tells him he’s in purgatory.

• Comedic exchange:

  Ferrando: “Where am I?”
  Monk: “Thou art in purgatory.”
  Ferrando: “Am I then dead?”
  Monk: “Ay, certes.” (25:14)

• Ferrando is regularly beaten, fed poor food, and told this is penance for his jealousy.

Absurd “Afterlife” Lessons (26:30–29:30)

• Ferrando is told, “because thus hath God the Lord ordained that it be done unto thee twice every day... thou wast jealous, having the best woman in the country to wife.” (26:52)
• Ferrando naively accepts all this, promising to reform if ever resurrected.

The Resurrection and Aftermath (33:26)

• After the affair results in a pregnancy, the abbot orchestrates Ferrando's faux "resurrection."
• Ferrando emerges from the “tomb,” credits the abbot’s prayers and his wife's devotion for his return, and resumes married life—entirely fooled.

Notable Quotes & Moments:

• The host on the absurdity of the story:

  “The Decameron is, at its core, just about people who are trying to live their life and enjoy the good times while they can, which is apt for a plague story.” (05:14)

• Medieval shade at the Church:

  “And whomst amongst us wasn’t banned by the Catholic church throughout the 1500s?” (06:45)

• Hazel’s postscript (the story picker):

  “I feel like this collection is such a perfect example of the more things change, the more things stay the same. People are always going to people. And it’s really fun to read stuff from olden times that treats women with agency, priests like they’re humans with regular desires, and people who do bad shit like they’re capable of changing while also getting some good dunks on them in the meantime.” (38:33)

Important Timestamps

• [04:30] — Intro to The Decameron and the “Human Comedy”
• [06:45] — Anti-clerical perspective and historical censorship
• [07:30–09:45] — High-level story summary and comedic tone set
• [16:30–19:00] — Wife’s confession and abbot’s seduction attempt
• [21:43] — The “Purgatory” ruse begins
• [25:14–26:30] — Ferrando’s confusion and the monk’s torments
• [33:26] — Ferrando is resurrected and returns to gullible bliss
• [38:33] — Hazel’s modern reflection on the story’s timelessness

Memorable Tone & Language

• The host’s style is breezy, colloquial, and irreverently respectful to the source—balancing summary with original text.
• A running theme is the enduring nature of human folly: “People are always going to people.”
• There’s admiration for medieval bawdiness and the female character’s agency, and playful snark reserved for both jealous husbands and lecherous clergy.

Episode Takeaways

• The Decameron resonates across centuries with its blend of unfiltered humanity, humor, and satire.
• Even stories conceived during deep crisis (the plague) were outlets for cheeky fun, subverting taboos and “dunking” on those in power.
• The podcast’s tone underscores how old stories about lies, sex, agency, and gullibility still hit home in the modern world.

Final Words

The episode ends with a direct note to the audience about the value of sometimes “just reading some weird old clever shit from the middle ages” (39:05), underscoring that examining both the evils and absurdities of humanity is as essential now as in Boccaccio’s day.

“In the meantime, take care of each other. Fuck ICE. See you soon.” (39:55)