The influence of words can be compelling, but the true strength of words only comes into focus when it is conveyed by the hands of a competent and capable writer. At that point, words can be downright awe-inspiring. Such is the case with Christine de Pizan and the words she filled The Book of the City of Ladies with. She eloquently and emphatically imparts the reader with a texturally rich justification of the true worth of women, which has stood the test of time.
As it will become apparent, the author’s use of an all-female cast of characters in the story act as idyllic vessels for her affirmative stance on women and she uses these fictional women to imbue her assertions with validity, voracity, and value. As one delves into this great work, de Pizan set the story up as a means of validating the fact that women, of all times and historical points, have just as much worth as men, if not more. In her eyes, women have been dealt an unfair hand throughout history and she is prepared to set the record straight.
Validating her stance is of great importance because in the grand scheme of time, male dominated society had relegated women to a lower class of existence. Interestingly, in her approach at formulating her validation of the worth of women, the very context of the story is an example of Christine’s stance on women being equal to men, in that the fictional character Christine is tasked with “building” a symbolic city.
In terms of masculine and feminine roles, the very act of construction or building had traditionally been considered to be he men of work, due to the labor intensive nature and belief that only educated men were capable of such monumental feats. Yet Christine sets the book up with the main character being the one who must construct the protective place for women as a means of defending themselves from the oppression of men. In one profound notion, this premise serves as a perfect setting to validate the worth of women because the author is showing that women are just as capable of creating an enduring place of permanency as men.
In addition to this, the author Christine is placing herself on the same level as men, in that she, as an educated writer, is equally capable of creating compelling, written work. As the story unfolds and the fictional character of Christine is introduced to and works with the female characters of Reason, Rectitude, and Justice, validation of female worth is presented by each of these feminine muses through their stories about great historical women. These are imparted to the character of Christine as a means of quantifying and qualifying what it is that makes women equal to or greater than their male counterparts.
As such, it is the sharing of the many stories within the book that provide validity to de Pizan’s writing. Building upon the validation standpoint discussed thus far, the author and female characters within the book approach the subject of womanly worth with a great deal of voracity. From the point-of-view of the author Christine, this is most apparent in the fact that the very subject of the fictional piece serves to debunk the misogynistic mindset that has reigned over humanity for eons.
As an educated woman, de Pizan is disheartened by the low lot women have been dealt throughout history and her goal is to dismantle and debunk what has been written about women, while also wholeheartedly building an argument as to why women should be seen as equals to men. Within the context of the story itself, Christine, her Godly guides, and the stories about great women of history all contribute to the passionate defense of women and their true worth because in all instances, stories, and conversations on the subject of omen, there is an unrelenting push to express and place women in a positive light.
Even when, for example, the author seems to stray from her pro-woman agenda, her use of misdirection is cyclical. One such example of this occurred in book 1 when the character of Christine addressed Reason and said “… it is a proven fact that women have weak bodies, tender and feeble in deeds of strength, and are cowards by nature” (p. 36). In response, Reason shared a number of different stories about strong women, such as Queen Semiramis, Queen Thamiris, and many other powerful women.
In short, these are but just a few examples of the sheer voracity Christine de Pizan had to extol upon and in defense of the worth of women. Together with the previous topics of validity and voracity, the final aspect in The Book of the City of Ladies that can be viewed as an intrinsic quality was Christine de Pizan’s emphasis upon value, both in the story told within the book and the creation of the book itself. The best definition of value, as it relates to this particular piece of writing, can be defined in the form of significance and worth.
It is a combination of the premise, creation, and fictional story contained within its pages give this definition weight. In more ways than one, the premise of Christine’s work is most precious because it challenged many of the established historical notions about women and has served as a positive point-of-view about women; in turn, it has also endured the test of time and still represents an uplifting example of an early written work by a woman.
As far as the creation of the book is concerned, one must recall that when Christine de Pizan was alive, it was almost unheard of for a woman to be in the position of an educated and revered author; in her actual role as an individual and as a woman, her very action of creating this book serves as an allegorical foundation stone of female equality.
Finally, the formation and implementation of the fictional story that was set in motion by her mind, evolved in her words and sentence structures, and was given life by her, in the pages she filled, are all of great ignificance because she did not allow herself or her thought process to be limited by the time of her existence; she simply refused to accept that the misogynistic viewpoints about women, which had gone mostly unchallenged, were true and factual. In short, she was far ahead of her own time and remains a beacon of many pro-feminist points-of-view. All things considered, when one has read The Book of the City of Ladies, it is difficult not to feel a sense of admiration for Christine de Pizan; the potency of words in her writing is simply exhilarating.
She emotively exposes her readers with a rich rationalization as to why women are just as good, if not better than men. The cast of women characters within The Book of the City of Ladies gives de Pizan an exceptionally affirmative sounding board to express her assertions about women with validity, voracity, and value. To do this, the all-female cast of characters and the great many stories they share serve as a means of validating women as more than what men have labeled them as.
In addition, the voracious sharing of these stories also serves as a means of placing a positive light onto womankind. Lastly, valuation is plentiful; beginning with the moral fortitude of the author herself, the significance of de Pizan’s book is perceptible because of its very premise, creation, and the story it tells. In essence, Christine de Pizan’s efforts as a woman and a writer are a powerful reminder as to how words, especially in the hands of a skilled and determined individual, can unleash an astute literary architect.