Quote:

            “What a fuss this crazy wife of mine has made! She sent the maid to her mother’s house, and the servant to the farm. I praise her for that; but I can’t praise her for being so squeamish before she finally agreed to get into bed. ‘I won’t…What will I do… What are you maing me do…Dear me! Mamma, Mamma!’ And if her mother hadn’t given her a piece of her mind, she wouldn’t have gotten into that bead! I hope she gets a bellyache! I don’t mind women being finisky, but not that much! She’s driven us out of our minds, that chicken brain!” (Messer Nicia 48)

 

Comment:

            This is a monologue of Messer Nicia has right at the beginning of the last scene in Act Four. Though Ligurio and Friar Timateo both enter the scene, this quote of Messer Nicia’s is between himself and the audience. He is complaining that his wife was reluctant to go along with the plan they have set forth.   Despite the fact that this quote is only Messer Nicia speaking, I chose this quote because I think it showcases the way all of the characters in the play view Lucrezia, Messer Nicia’s wife. He complains that she was reluctant to get into bed with another man and went crying to her mother. He continues to say that this kind of “finicky” behavior is something he does not intend to tolerate and that any women should consider herself lucky to be with him.

            This mindset proves that women in society are seen most as an object than another human being. Messer Nicia is not concerned for how Lucrezia feels about the plan, he merely wishes to achieve his own goal, to father a child. Throughout the play the plan is justified by each character by saying that Lucrezia will finally have the opportunity to bear a child. This infers that all women are meant to care about is being a mother. In Messer Nicia’s eyes, Lucrezia having her own opinions and desires is nuisance that he should not have to deal with.

           These viewpoints reminded me a conversation that I had in my Contemporary Feminist Theories class regarding the suppression of women of the course of human history. We discussed that historically speaking women have been viewed as having a single role in society, motherhood. This falls perfectly in line with Messer Nicia’s views. We also read excerpts from Simone de Beauvoir’s “The Second Sex”, that trace this collective view point back to the biological fact that only women can have children making them immanent in society. On the other hand, men are free to be transcendent, just as all of the men are in this play. They are free to define what they think is just and act accordingly to achieve their personal goals, whereas Lucrezia is never afforded such luxury.

 

Question:

             In your opinion has the role and view of women in society changed since this play was written? If so, how? If not, how might society achieve this?