The analysis of pregnancy in Pietro the Fool and Peruonto

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The analysis of pregnancy in “Pietro the Fool” and “Peruonto”

Mathilde Jourdan

Foundations in World Cultures - AHUM 1416-3

Dr. Gabrielle Popoff

October 14th 2009

Both short folk stories “Pietro the Fool” by Giovanfrancesco Straparola and “Peruonto” by Giambattista Basile tell of a poor, dim and common boy who, upon being insulted by a girl from an upper social class, makes her pregnant by means of magic – and eventually marries her. Both Pietro and Peruonto are luckless heroes whose fortunes are changed by this magic act of conception. The theme of pregnancy reveals a lot about gender roles, social class issues and the kind of patriarchic society the 'heroes' live in. It ties together all kinds of interesting aspects of life in those times. Hence by analyzing these stories, one can get a better idea of the social conditions of the time those characters live in.

These tales reflect a male viewpoint in which the hero seeks revenge for the emasculating comments made by a young Princess, causes her life to take a toll for the worse, and then rises to power. Both in “Pietro the Fool” and in  “Peruonto”, the protagonists are granted the power to make any wish come true – in the first case because he has found a magic tuna fish, and in the second case through the power of three fairies. With this power in their hands, both of these characters, true to their titles of fools and “blockheads” (106) wish merely, and solely out of spite, for the young Princesses of their land to become pregnant. Although these wishes seem inane and wasted, the consequences of them make for a very interesting study of society. For example, in “Pietro the Fool”, the young girl is said to be merely eleven years old, and her pregnancy naturally causes quite a stir in the kingdom, as the identity of the child’s illegitimate father was unknown.

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In those times, the inexplicable pregnancy of a daughter was clearly a serious concern particularly for noble families, but also for commoners. At stake were the legacy and pride of a family – as in “Peruonto”, when the king announces that “my daughter has provided me with the horns of ink to write the chronicles or rather the debacle of my shame. I’m inclined to deliver her soul from her body before she delivers a bad brood.” (107) This shame stems not only from the lack of purity and innocence that the Princess should typically represent, but also, and more ...

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