Hieronymous Bosch (?), Christ's Decent into Hell, 1550-1560

"If you don't let me in, I shall make you the sorriest man on earth. To which Tofano replied: And how are you going to do that?" - Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron

As often depicted in all sorts of media and entertainment, Tofano confronts a classic ultimatum. After locking his wife out of the house, which under no circumstance would ever end in his favor, she responded in the most rational of ways. Monna, his wife, decided to cleverly fake her death by throwing a massive stone down into a well. Naturally, this scares the living daylights out of Tofano as he quickly becomes aware of his what his fate will be if he is blamed for her death. With either his reputation or his head on the line, Tofano quickly makes his way to the well to find that he had been played. Now was the one locked out of the house.

Christ's Descent into Hell accurately reflects Tofano's mindset as the impact at the bottom of the well echoes through his ears. Everything goes downhill from that point on and his and Tofano is forced to fear the worst. Instantly terrified that he will be accused of murder, Tofano fears he will have to go through hell to survive his predicament. Regardless of avoiding death or forced fleeing, Tofano is still left with being simply outwitted by his wife.

Although relationship ultimatums have been used in modern entertainment, none will ever come close to the beautifully dramatized conditions that Tofano is confronted with. Monna showed great dexterity and courage to pull off such a feat against her husband, and will always have completed one of the most sinister pranks ever. This series of events also brings out the immaturity of both Tofano and Monna. Regardless of their age and length of their marriage, they successfully bring out their inner child.