Page "Summary of Decameron tales" Paragraph 73

One criticism of the latter type was that it was not healthy for a man of Boccaccio's age – approximately 38 – to associate with young ladies, to whom the work is supposedly written.

To defend against this criticism ( which would never really enter into the thoughts of a real critic of the day ) Boccaccio tells a story explaining how natural it is for a man to enjoy a woman's company.

In this story Filipo Balducci is a hermit living with his son on Mount Asinaio after the death of his wife and travels occasionally to Florence for supplies.

One day his son – now eighteen and having never before left the mountain – accompanies him because Filipo is too infirm to make the journey alone.

While there the son becomes fascinated with women, even though he had never seen one before and Filipo regrets ever bringing his son to Florence.