 To defend against this criticism, 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.