“However, as I am sure you will know, every man and woman should be equal before the law, and laws must have the consent of those who are affected by them. These conditions are not fulfilled in the present instance, because this law only applies to us poor women, who are much better able than men to bestow our favors liberally. Moreover, when this law was made, no woman gave her consent to it, nor was any woman even so much as consulted. It can therefore justly be described as a very bad law. [...] If he has always taken as much of me as he needed and as much as he chose to take, I ask you, Messer Podestà, what am I to do with the surplus? Throw it to the dogs? Is it not far better that I should present it to a gentleman who loves me more dearly than himself, rather than allow it to turn bad or go to waste?"

Now you must execute a close reading of each of the passages from Part I. That means

that you must submit a total of THREE close readings.

For your three close readings, you must accomplish three things. First, you must explain the significance of this passage for the story in which it appears (in other words, provide a very brief plot synopsis with character names, and explain at what point this passage appears). Second, you should explain how this story relates to the theme of the day in which it appears, and draw a connection between this story and another one in the same day. Third, you must draw at least one connection between this story and another story in the Decameron from a different day. In this last case, think broadly of the themes or characterizations that appear in this tale and elsewhere that are either compared or contrasted (i.e., characterizations of women, female eloquence, intelligence, sexuality and desire; patriarchy and domestic dynamics; representations of the mercantile world, etc.).

This passage is from the book Decameron, it is the sixth day, seventh story. The character that is speaking is Madonna Fillippa