How faithful are women when no one is watching them?
Mozart deals with this question in his opera
Cosė fan tutte, meaning
Thus Do All [Women Behave]. Although the word "woman" does not occur in the title in Italian, the feminine inflection on the word
tutte makes it clear that Mozart is referring to women.
In the opera, two officers are sure that their wives are eternally faithful, while Don Alfonso wagers the men that he can get the wives to cheat on their husbands in just one day. The two men pretend to go off to war, and, surely enough, their wives cheat on them from day one.
Here is "Una donna a quindici anni" from Mozart's opera
Cosė fan tutte.
Una donna a quindici anni . . . . . A woman of 15 years
De'e saper ogni gran moda . . . . Must know all the good methods,
Dove il diavolo ha la coda . . . . . Where the devil keeps his tail,
Cosa e bene, e mal cos'e. . . . . . What's good and what's bad.
De'e saper le maliziette . . . . . . She must know the little malices
Che innamorano gli amanti . . . . That enamour lovers:
Finger riso, finger pianti . . . . . . To feign laughter, to feign tears,
Inventar i bei perche. . . . . . . . . And invent good reasons.
De'e in un momento dar retta a cento . . She must pay attention to a hundred at a time
Colle pupille parlar con mille . . . . . . . . Speak through her eyes with a thousand
Dar speme a tutti, sien belli o brutti, . . Give hope to all, be they handsome or ugly,
Saper nascondersi senza confondersi, . Know how to obfuscate without getting confused
Senz'arrossire saper mentire. . . . . . . . And know how to lie without blushing.
E qual regina dall'alto soglio . . . . . . . . And this queen from her high throne
Col posso e voglio farsi ubbidir. . . . . . Can make them obey with, "I can," and "I want."
(Par ch'abbian gusto di tal dottrina, . . (It seems they like this doctrine,
Viva Despina che sa servir!) . . . . . . . Long live Despina, who knows how to serve!)