Frames, Fragmentation and Female Voice: How the Disruptive Structure of the Decameron Empowers Women

Abstract: This article provides a new approach to examining to what extent frame breaks in the narration on Day 6 of the Decameron provide space and voice for its female characters. More specifically, those timely structural shifts caused by women—Licisca’s interruption at the beginning of Day 6 and the female brigata ’s excursion to the Valle delle Donne at the end—amplify the voice and agency of three adulterous wives of Day 7 (Peronella, Monna Ghita and Lidia) who successfully trick their husbands and carry out their extramarital affairs while simultaneously maintaining the public façade of marital honor.