The Pentameron is a reworking of the 15th Century work “Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles.” First translated into English in 1899 by Robert Douglas, this collection is now, for the first time, elevated to the level of Boccaccio’s Decameron and the Heptameron of Marguerite de Navarre with a frame story fitting for it.
Day One’s theme is edifying folly, or cases of error that can be learned from.
Now, through the contrivance of life, it so happened that this summit of business occurred on the same day that the wife of Seller had scheduled a rather crafty trick for her husband. The story of this trick was that a woman who worked on the property, being rather young and becoming, had been receiving quite a bit of attention from Seller, which his wife noticed, and she well knew what would come next. Thus, she devised the following plan.
“The next time that my husband plays at making love to you,” she said to the young woman, “lay aside all reserve, and tell him that you shall await him in the poolhouse that very evening. Then, if he should accept the rendezvous, I will take your place, trusting to the darkness of night as well as that of bedroom.”
The young woman was pleased at this opportunity for serving Seller’s wife, of whom she had always been fond, as well as for the opportunity to play a trick on the man himself, whom she had always regarded as little more than humorous. Thus, the trap was laid.
What need is there for dragging out the matter? On Friday, the young woman, being thoroughly instructed by Seller’s wife, was approached by the man, and she named the hour that he should come to her at the poolhouse the following night. At this, Seller was so excited that he nearly forgot that Saturday started his summit with Buyer, and he promised himself that he would not fail to dutifully attend both meetings.
-from “Day One, Story One”
As it happened, our heroine made a folly—to get it out of the way—in that she happened to appoint the same hour and day for two of her lovers, each of whom thought himself to be her only one. At the same time, in order to keep free that time on that day, she was required to fake an illness in the morning, and I am sorry to say that her husband—due to his misgiving nature, perhaps—did not believe her, leaving for the day while taking with him much suspicion.
Well, when the time in question approached, the first to arrive was a young man who our heroine had met some months before, and their love affair was, therefore, only a few weeks old. Perhaps, it was this reason, as well as his general youth, that caused this paramour to be the first of the two to arrive; for he came, it must be noted, some minutes early.
Not long were these lovers locked in each other’s arms before, suddenly, there came the sound of a car in the driveway. Instantly, each linked mind was thrown from its throne, the one through fear and the other through a sense of her error.
“Is that your husband?” the young lover asked.
“Indeed, it is,” our heroine answered, well knowing otherwise. “I know the sound of him. He will, I am sure, kill you, should he find you here with me.”
“Kill me? He would go that far?”
“Indeed, he would, and even further, perhaps. He has threatened as much before.”
“What am I going to do? Where can I hide?”
“Hurry, go out the window, and then, work your way along the roof to the other side of the house, where the lattice will surely be able to let you down. There are not many thorns in the roses weaved into it, and be careful not to kill them on your way.”
-from “Day One, Story Three”
The woman’s husband—the most jealous and suspicious man living—going out for a bit, the lovers sprang into each other’s arms, and they were still that way when they heard the return of the woman’s husband, something having made him suddenly return. Indeed, so surprised were the lovers that they had no other option than to run upstairs and hide, thereby getting as far away from the trouble as possible, though, at the same time, trapping themselves. Soon, the actual sound of the husband was heard, and from the home’s foyer, he called out for his wife.
“Alas, my dear,” she whispered, “the error of our ways seems to have come, but there might, perhaps, still remain some way out of it.” Quickly, she explained that her husband was a most superstitious man, and she gathered up a white sheet as well as a coat hanger, both of which she found in the room’s closet.
“Put on this,” she said, “and hold this. Then, listen to what I say below, and when you hear my husband’s first step on the stairs, come down yourself.”
Her lover could only be confused and comply; for she soon left him down the stairs.
“Dear husband,” she said as she descended, “what has made you so quick in the return?”
“Forget that,” the man replied, “what has made you so long in answering my calls?”
-from “Day One, Story Five”
Amongst all the world—for a time, at least—the only soul who knew the extent of this man’s love affairs was his trusted assistant, a man who had been with him since the beginning, even before the making of his money. Indeed, so far was this assistant favored that he not only knew all his boss’ love-affairs, but he acted as emissary and go-between on nearly every occasion.
Well, it eventually happened that, by the advice of family and friends, this two-homing man was married to a beautiful, good, and rich lady, much to the joy of many persons. Included in this happy group was the man’s trusted assistant, who very much hoped his boss’ wild oats to have been sewn.
One day, not long after the marriage, this chief liaison officer happened to mention to his boss how relieved he was now that the man was married, and no longer, he said, would he need play intermediary to love affairs. To this, the boss replied that, despite his new condition, he had no intention of abandoning his ways, though it may be that his liaisons would become less frequent, at least for a time.
Certainly, the advisor was less than pleased to hear these words, and he replied that such amours as his boss carried on should, as a rule, cease once his love becomes shared with a young woman who excels all others in beauty, prudence, and goodness.
“Do as you please, sir,” he said, “but, for my part, I will no longer be of service to any lady, should doing so outrage your wife.”
“I know not what you mean by outrage,” the boss quickly replied; “for I very much intend for all these matters to remain secret. As such, I will have you know that your duties will remain as before.”
