THE SCENE: In this cringe-inducing passage, a desperate young man convinces his former lover to allow him to lie briefly in her bed so that he can warm himself up. Like a scoundrel, he promptly uses the opportunity to kill himself through an act of raw willpower.
THE TEXT: To hear her talking like this, the young man was driven to the brink of despair. He reminded her of the times they had spent in each other’s company and of the fact that his love for her had never diminished despite their separation. He poured out a stream of entreaties and promised her the moon. But he was unable to make the slightest impression.
All he wanted to do now was to die, and so finally, invoking the great love he bore her, he pleaded with her to let him lie down at her side so that he could get warm, pointed out that his limbs had turned numb with cold while he was waiting for her. He assured her that he would neither talk to her nor touch her, and promised to go away as soon as he had warmed himself a little.
Feeling rather sorry for him, Salvestra agreed to let him do it, but only if he kept his promises. So the young man lay down at her side without attempting to touch her, and, concentrating his thoughts on his long love for her, on her present coldness towards him, and on the dashing of his hopes, he resolved not to go on living. Without uttering a word, he clenched his firsts and held his breath until finally he expired at her side.
– Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron, 14th Century AD
