This thesis discusses the portrayal of women through the history of short prose, focussing on Cervantes and Boccaccio. Firstly, I describe the role of women in society in the time of writing Boccaccio's Decameron and Cervantes' Exemplary Novels. Then I compare their role to the portrayal of women in both works. After a thorough analysis I arrive at a conclusion that both Boccaccio and Cervantes adopt the mindset of their time and present women as dictated by the patriarchal society. At the same time, both of them partly deviate from the ideas and norms of their time. We can spot early signs of feminism, which are, however, often overlooked because of the sexist commentary and remarks, presenting women in an extremely unfavourable way.
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