3. In story 2.7, women are treated are prizes and trophies. Pericone is murdered by his brother, who desires Alatiel because she is 'extremely beautiful and most gracious.' By killing his brother, he 'wins' the lady and takes her for himself. We also see the idea of 'beautiful, silent' women in this story; this can be seen when Alatiel washes up on shore and Pericone desires to take her for his wife. He states that he is very happy they cannot understand each other's language. She is, essentially, mute.
It seems as though women in this story have basically no control over their lives, and it is the men deciding everything for them. Boccaccio seems to be saying through this story that it is the fault of the women that the men commit heinous acts.
5. Story 3.1- The main difference between this story and 2.7 is that the woman didn't speak because she didn't know the language; basically, she was unable to speak. However, the man, Masetto, hid his ability to speak in order to achieve his goal. A similarity between both stories is that both main characters got laid, many many times, and this was both of their main goals. I believe that Boccaccio is saying that trickery and cunning is necessary to get what you want; that's how I interpret Masetto's muteness. To me, it seems as if both men and women share a similar sort of power when it comes to sex. I found it interesting that in this story a man decided to stay silent, because it is usually the women who end up doing that.
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