Address how the cosmoses advanced in Decameron and Arabian Nights support or challenge a Boethian cosmos.

In the middle Ages, religion was intertwined with most aspects of life. It was present in the laws and regulations of politics, the social order, and even the morals and values of family life. Despite the public dominance of religion, people personalized religion to their benefit. This was manifested through private prayer and moral introspection. Apart from the obvious reasons of religiosity, women were able to use religion to improve other aspects in their life. In the Middle Ages, women used religion as a means to achieve personal autonomy. In the Middle Ages, women’s opportunities for independence were limited. Women were reduced to the domestic sphere since they were restricted to hold public positions. Men treated women as dependents and often manipulated them. In Bocaccio’s The Decameron, the story of Alibech illustrates how men took advantage of women’s inferiority and manipulated them. In the story, an innocent girl, Alibech, journeyed into the wilderness to seek how “God could best be served and with the least hindrance” (The Decameron, pp. 5) and met a man named Rustico. He took advantage of Alibech’s ignorance and manipulated her for his own sexual desires. He convinced her that partaking in sexual acts is a way of servicing God. In addition to Rustico, another man named Neerbale treated Alibech as an object, marrying her for the sole purpose of her large inheritance (The Decameron). The superiority of men and the structure of society made it harder for women to be in control of their own lives. The Thousand and One Nights was translated in writing in the 14th century. In the 14th century, women had very little significance in society. Women were the property of men and had very little influence over men. Or did they? A woman’s power came from their sexuality and through it they could control men. Sexuality in The Thousand and One Nights was used by women as a weapon to control men’s actions, thoughts, and emotions. Women in The Thousand and One Nights use their sexuality to control their husband’s actions. The first example of a woman controlling her husband with their sexuality is in the beginning of the story when Shahzaman was invited by his brother Shahrayar to visit his kingdom. Shahzaman was getting ready for his journey and he walked in on his wife having sex with one of the kitchen staff. Shahzaman’s wife controlled his actions by betraying him. Shahzaman’s actions would not have normally been influenced by his wife if she had not slept with the cook. Unfortunately, her influence on her husband’s actions leads to her death. When you compare “The Thousand and One Nights” To “Bocaccio’s The Decameron” his role of women is very similar. The women in these stories both are controlled and subservient to their husbands but the difference in Paradise lost Images and allusions to sex and death are intermingled The character of Satan serves as not only an embodiment of death and sin, but also insatiated sexual lust. The combination of sex and lust has significant philosophical implications, especially in relation to themes of creation, destruction, and the nature of existence. In The Thousand and One Nights The nature of justice, the administering of deserved punishments or rewards, is explored often in many of the literature and poetry from throughout history. It plays an outstanding role in The Thousand and One Nights, where justice is a major element of many of the stories told. The instances of justice throughout The Thousand and One Nights share a number of similarities; the initial “justice” of each story are a result of one a person’s anger, and in the end are all rectified and seek to ‘right a wrong’ in the eyes of the wrongfully punished, which overall is intended to teach King Shahrayar moral lessons. The first example of a false just being rectified is in ‘The First Old Man’s Tale’. In this story, a man who is unable to conceive a child with his wife has ason with a mistress instead, and the wife reacts by turning the mistress into a cow and the son into a bull. The action taken by the wife is an act done out of jealousy, and thus anger, towards her husband. Though from the reader’s perspective the transformation might seem inexcusable and evil in nature, however from the wife’s perspective it can be seen as just: transforming the mistress and the illegitimate son is justice to her considering her husband has cheated on her.  The mistress ends up getting slaughtered, but the son is identified by the shepherd’s daughter as being a human. She changes the son back, and then changes the wife into a pretty deer, because they don’t want to “suffer her sinister looks” (573). This second round of transformations, made by the daughter, is the clearer and more ideal justice. The transformation of the wife into a deer is justice for her initial transformation of the mistress and son, as the daughter says she will transform the wife to “let her taste what she has inflicted on others” (572). Moreover, the initial transformations led to the slaughter of the mistress, and thus transforming the wife is justice brought against a murder. This later transformation serves as a lesson to the King to not only stop punishing the innocent, but to punish wrongdoing in a more appropriate and humble way than killing. Justice also plays a big part in ‘The Second Old Man’s Tale’.  The Decameron, by Giovanni Boccaccio, treats women in an uncommon manner considering the time period in which it was written. The story is set in 1348, during the time of the Black Plague.Throughout this era, women were viewed as lesser than men in every way. This is evidenced in characters throughout the stories, including the Abbess in Day 3, Story 1. However in other stories women are revered as perfect, almost Christ-like, figures. The character of Griselda in Day 10, Story 10, specifically demonstrates this quality. Overall, the treatment of women in The Decameron is inconsistent and unusual for the time period. Women during the time of the Black Plague were perceived in a negative light, as weak beings that would easily succumb to temptation. It is said in the introduction that women are, “fickle, quarrelsome, suspicious, timid, and fearful.” (Boccaccio 18) These adjectives describe the general view of women during this time. One example of this perception in The Decameron would be the character of the Abbess in 3-1. “Looking at it and realizing that she was all alone, the Abbess fell victim to the same lustful cravings that had overtaken her nuns, she woke Masetto and led him to her room, where she kept him for several days… the Abbess over and over again enjoyed that sweetness which before she had used to condemn in others.” (Boccaccio 199) The Abbess, who is supposed to be chaste and obedient to God,more so than any other woman, gives into lust. Not only that, but she gives in easily and without much thought. The actions of the Abbess speak to the view of women during that time period. Here, even a woman who is supposed to be completely unwavering in her beliefs and dedicated to living a wholesome life, quickly succumbs to temptation.  In the Arabian nights, three brothers open markets using their money earned from inheritance, and later go on a trip. Upon returning, the first two brothers, enraged with jealousy over their third brother’s wealth and success, attempt kill him and his wife by throwing them overboard. The wife, now turned into a shedemon, saves her husband from drowning, and out of anger says she must kill the two brothers, but her husband advises her not to saying, “this I do not wish, for I will not behave like them” and urges her to “be kind to those who hurt you. No matter what, they are my brothers after all” (575).Instead of killing them, she sends the evil brothers to her sister who changes them into dogs. Thus, it is known that the transformation of the brothers into dogs serves as a stand-in punishment to death. Knowing this, it can be concluded that his change is justice brought unto the two brothers’ evil actions, a chastisement for attempting the murder of their brother. Additionally, the two brothers misuse all the money their brother had given them on unnecessary things , and so it can also be concluded that the transformation also serves as a punishment for their wastefulness and envy as told by the first brother that mentions they, “grew jealous of me, envied me for my increasing merchandise and wealth…” (575).  ‘Therefore, it can be argued that the wife transforms the husband as justice to her lover, herself, and for the sake of her happiness. The husband is recognized by a shop owner’s daughter to be transformed and she changes him back, ultimately leading to the wife to be then transformed into amule. The daughter’s transformation of the husband back into human is more clear justice, as it aims to rectify a punishment put onto him regardless of his innocence.  The changing of his wife into a mule, meanwhile, punishes her for transforming him, for he wanted “to cast a spell on my wife as she did on me” (577). Along with this reasoning, it also punishes her for her cheating. Justice can be seen from two different perspectives in all three stories in The Thousand and One Nights, and through a deeper analysis it is seen that they share a number of common elements. In the stories that feature the transformation of innocent people into animals, the initial transformation is always prompted by or caused out of anger and as told by Shahrazad, is the false justice. The changing of people into animals serve as punishment for the innocent, and thus can be perceived by the evil-doer as bringing justice against a wrong which the innocent has caused.  The transformations in the stories also all serve to amend the wrongs done by the truly evil people and bring about the real justice being taught by Shahrazad, either by reversing the changes which were not just, as was the case in the third story where the innocent husband was changed into a dog or in the first story where the innocent son was changed into a bull. All ended by the ultimate changing of the wrongdoer. These changes prompt more conflict in the story through the punishing of truly innocent people, and always the conflict is ultimately cleared up by fixing the wrongs done and bringing about justice.  It is interesting to compare women portrayed in The Decameron, such as the Abbess, to the character of Griselda in the final story. One of the most significant female characters in the book, Griselda is an example of an ideal woman. She is beautiful, kind, well mannered, hard working, modest, and, above all, devoted to her husband. Even when her husband subjects her to unimaginable cruelties, she remains loyal to him. The narrator asks the audience, “Who besides Griselda could have endured the severe and unheard of trials that Gualtieri imposed upon her and remain with a not only tearless but a happy face?” (798) Griselda happily tolerates each of her husband’s injustices without wavering in her sense of propriety. In a time period where religion dictated so much of people’s lives, it is Griselda, a woman, who comes closest to living like Christ. In this way, she is revered as an almost Christ-like figure at the end of the book. It is ironic that the Christ-like figure in this story would be a woman, considering their low social status. It is also ironic considering the way women are portrayed up until this point in The Decameron- as weak creatures of lust. Conclusion Throughout the reading from the Decameron by Boccaccio it brings up many good points that most people face during their lifetime. He talks about the way that pain eventually fades away and is healed in time, but the memory is forever lasting. However during that time of grieving people find ways to occupy themselves which is definitely true. After a certain amount of time which varies for all people, pain slowly and gradually fades. The concept of death and pain in the two stories is what forces people to fight and get their independence.