Griselda´s Sojourn: "Imitatio" and "cornice" from Boccaccio to Timoneda

Abstract

This article dissects the main European avatars of the story of Griselda, which closes Boccaccio´s Decamerone, is translated twice by Petrarch, and goes through Metge, Pizan, Chaucer, the anonymous Castigos y doctrinas que un sabio daba a sus hijas and Timoneda´s Patrañuelo. From a theoretical standpoint of narratology, it analyzes their narrative frame (or cornice) and their imitation and emulation of past models, which main affects plot and characters.  The different variants coincide with epistemological moments so the original plot, which intended for Griselda to become a role model for the whole of society, is transformed gradually into manual for wives-to-be and finally into a delectable story for the Renaissance reader.