Giovanni Boccaccio, translated by Mark Musa and Peter Bondanella
The lady and her companion rose, went to the table together with Federigo, who waited upon them with the greatest devotion, and they ate the good falcon without knowing what it was they were eating. And having left the table and spent some time in pleasant conversation, the lady thought it time now to say what she had come to say, and so she spoke these kind words to Federigo:
“Federigo, if you recall your past life and my virtue, which you perhaps mistook for harshness and cruelty, I do not doubt at all that you will be amazed by my presumption when you hear what my main reason for coming here is; but if you had children, through whom you might have experienced the power of parental love, it seems certain to me that you would, at least in part, forgive me. But, just as you have no child, I do have one, and I cannot escape the common laws of other mothers; the force of such laws compels me to follow them, against my own will and against good manners and duty, and to ask of you a gift which I know is most precious to you; and it is naturally so, since your extreme condition has left you no other delight, no other pleasure, no other consolation; and this gift is your falcon, which my son is so taken by that if I do not bring it to him, I fear his sickness will grow so much worse that I may lose him. And therefore I beg you, not because of the love that you bear for me, which does not oblige you in the least, but because of your own nobility, which you have shown to be greater than that of all others in practicing courtliness, that you be pleased to give it to me, so that I may say that I have saved the life of my son by means of this gift, and because of it I have placed him in your debt forever.”
Which statement best describes what Monna asks of Federigo?
She calls on his graciousness to save her son's life by gifting him a beloved falcon.
She asks him to train her son to fly the falcon to cheer his spirits.
She asks him because of his love for her to save her son's life by gifting him a beloved falcon.
She asks him to marry her so that she can fairly obtain his falcon and save her son's life.
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The statement that best describes what Monna asks of Federigo is:
She calls on his graciousness to save her son's life by gifting him a beloved falcon.
In her appeal, she emphasizes his nobility and graciousness rather than any personal connection or romantic feelings, requesting the falcon as a means to save her son's life.
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