La Fiammetta

Fiammetta addresses other women in love because she hopes they will understand the distress that men might dismiss. Giovanni Boccaccio gives this romance the form of a woman's personal lament, with her feelings and arguments carrying the story. She wants sympathy for an attachment that has left her troubled, while her account exposes the struggle between what she desires and what she believes she should do.

An elderly nurse sees through Fiammetta's attempts to hide her condition. Their conversation brings practical concerns into the emotional turmoil: family standing, public reputation and the affection of her husband. The nurse urges restraint, but Fiammetta finds sound advice easier to acknowledge than to follow. In James C. Brogan's English translation, the formal speech and extended appeals make private distress feel like a sustained debate. Readers interested in early prose fiction can follow how a narrator tries to explain herself, defend her feelings and secure compassion.