The Heptameron

Diane the Hunter, School of Fontainbleau, 1550-1560,  Louvre Museum

By Marguerite de Navarre, London, Penguin Books, 1984, p. 542

Inspired by The Decameron, this text is composed of seventy-two short stories written or compiled by Marguerite de Navarre (1492-1549), sister of Francois I and patron of Rabelais. Five men and five women take refuge from misadventure in a Pyrenean abbey and they agree to pass the time telling stories.  Unlike Boccaccio's work, however, the participants stipulate that all their tales must be true. The Heptameron was composed during the Reformation, and the mood of the work is considerably darker than The Decameron.   

The rules and rites of marriage are the means to explore both religious foment and changes in aristocratic hierarchy.  Marguerite specifies that the tales should address the question: can a woman know romantic passion and remain virtuous?  The religious controversies the 16th century set the stage for the rise of the novel.  Every sinner was responsible for avoiding sin and demonstrating the presence of God's grace in his or her life.  This prompted an awareness of one's inner life and the inner life of others.  According to Smiley, novels organize themselves around a character's inner life and especially inner conflict.