In the story of Masetto and the nuns, as well as the story of Pietro di Vinciolo, the characters deceive each other in order to get what they want.

Masetto pretends to be deaf and dumb in order to get the nuns to sleep with him. The nuns deceive the abbess  by hiding their affairs with Masetto and then once the abbess starts sleeping with Masetto, every one in the convent is hiding something. Not to mention the fact that all of the nuns are defying the virginal image that they display to the public. They are also being unfaithful to their promise to God, but one nun justifies that by saying that everyone makes promises that they can't keep.

Pietro di Vinciolo will not have sex with his wife, instead he goes off with other men. So, she has many lovers to keep her satisfied. One night when she has a man in the house, her husband comes home and is upset because the wife of one of his friends was caught cheating. His wife quickly hides the man under a chicken coup and then goes to her husband. She speaks against the woman who was caught cheating, all the while hiding her own affair. A donkey wanders by the chicken coup and steps on her lover's hand, he yells and immediately Pietro's wife is caught. She starts yelling about how Pietro will not sleep with her, and instead of being angry Pietro makes a deal with his wife, they will both sleep with this young man.


These two stories emphasize the importance of speech and communication. Masetto feigns an inability to speak in order to get what he wants, and because he can't say anything the nuns are willing to sleep with him. In the Pietro story, his wife must speak negatively about what his friend's wife did in order to protect herself. However, when she does this she is condemning her own behavior. Also, if Pietro and his wife had communicated their desires earlier, they both would have had what they wanted.