“The most widely read woman writer in fifteenth and early sixteenth century
England was Christine de Pizan” (Summit 61). She was the first European feminist
writer, and has become increasingly popular over the last few years, going from
a “minor” medieval writer, to a “major” one (Stevenson 29). She wrote
approximately 20 books (Westling 1366). One of those books was The Book of the
City of Ladies, considered the first book written by a woman in defense of
women’s rights. In that book, Christine quotes the Bible extensively, showing
that she believed that the Bible is a book that should be an encouragement to
women. Even though the Bible is usually seen as an anti-feminist work, Christine
de Pizan showed in her book, The Book of the City of Ladies, that the Bible can
actually be used in defense of women’s rights.
Feminism is a word that for many modern women has many negative connotations.
One may associate the word with radical women who want to get rid of gender
altogether, or want women to have the freedom to participate in activities and
roles traditionally limited to men. In Christine de Pizan’s time, feminism was a
word that did not even exist. When Noah Webster wrote his 1828 dictionary, he
did not include the word, so it is a reasonable assumption that the word
feminism did not exist until after then. The first mention of the word seems to
come in 1895, when it was used in a book. Christine did not see herself as a
“feminist,” but rather as a woman speaking out on behalf of other women. She did
not want society to change to the extent that modern-day feminists sometimes
advocate, but she did want women to be treated fairly. Her feminism was
“well-tempered” (Cosman 11). Thus, many modern women may agree with her form of
feminism, when they would not necessarily consider themselves feminists.
The Bible has been interpreted as an anti-feminist work for many years. Clement
of Alexandria said in the second century, “the female sex…is especially
dishonored of God” (Raeper and Edwards 301). Jerome said in his writings, “women
is a temple built over a sewer” (Raeper and Edwards 302). Thomas Aquinas said,
“woman is defective and misbegotten” (Raeper and Edwards 304). Stanton
summarizes the way that some Bible scholars view the role of women as portrayed
in the Scripture:
Woman brought sin and death into the world…marriage for her was to be a
condition of bondage, maternity a period of suffering and anguish, and in
silence and subjection, she was to play the role of a dependent on man’s bounty
for all her material wants, and for all the information she might desire on the
vital questions of the hour, she was commanded to ask her husband at home. (1:
7)
For the most part, women have reacted to these interpretations negatively. They
have wanted to change or “correct” the Bible, or just get rid of it altogether (Bloesch
19). In 1895, Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote a book called The Woman’s Bible. She
and approximately twenty other women took Bibles and cut out all of the
Scriptures pertaining to women, pasted them on pieces of paper, and wrote their
own interpretation of the Scriptures (Hill and Cheadle 26). The resulting book
was highly criticized for its title and the lack of the use of the original
Greek and Hebrew by the writers for interpretation (Stanton 2: 8). The Woman’s
Bible became the source for many of the issues that feminists proclaimed for the
next century (Hill and Cheadle 26).
Christine de Pizan was born in Venice in 1365 and died in 1429. She was educated
in Paris where her father was a court official, despite the wishes of her
mother. She married at the age of 15, and was very happy until she was widowed
at the age of 25 with three small children. She turned to writing to support
herself, her children, and her mother (whom she was responsible for following
the death of her father). She wrote poetry at first, and then moved on to prose.
She covered topics ranging from misogyny, to love, to world history, to women,
to politics, to Joan of Arc (Westling 1366).
Christine de Pizan’s book, The Book of the City of Ladies, is a story about a
vision Christine had one day while she was depressed because men seemed to
constantly be disparaging women. In the vision, three women, Reason, Rectitude,
and Justice, appear to her and tell her that she has been chosen to build a city
of refuge for virtuous women. Reason, Rectitude, and Justice are women who model
their names to the fullest degree possible. Reason is very rational and explains
everything in great detail. She “straightens out men and women when they go
astray,” and shows people their faults and weaknesses as well as their strengths
(de Pizan 9). She carries a shiny mirror that when someone looks into “clear
self-knowledge” will be revealed (de Pizan 9). She will help Christine to build
strong outer walls for the city that will repel attackers. Rectitude is a woman
of moral integrity. She exhorts people in the way of righteousness and
encourages them to tell the truth. She rewards those who do well and holds a
shining ruler. The ruler divides right from wrong and measures all things. She
will help Christine to construct the buildings of the city using her ruler to
make everything even. Justice is responsible for punishing evil doers. She has
no friends, and no enemies, so “pity cannot persuade [her], nor cruelty move
[her]” (de Pizan 13-14). She is the final judge and instructs people to “do to
others what they wish to have done to themselves” (de Pizan 14). She holds a
golden vessel that will “measure out to each his rightful portion” (de Pizan
14). She will help Christine to finish the city by building roofs of gold, and
by bringing the ladies to the city. Then, she will turn the city over to
Christine by giving her the keys to the gates.
For the rest of the book, each of the women takes a turn building with
Christine. As they are working, Christine asks them questions and they respond
by telling stories of women throughout history. The book ends when Justice
brings the women who will live in the city to Christine. The Virgin Mary is
appointed queen, and Christine makes a speech to all of the ladies.
Christine de Pizan shows that the Bible can be used to support feminist claims
by quoting it numerous times in her book, The Book of the City of Ladies. She
often “appeals to the universal values of Christianity” (Brabant 210). She “saw
in Christianity a means of overcoming oppression” (Richards xxvix). Her
arguments still are powerful today, “Christine’s arguments still sound fresh
even 575 years after they were first advanced” (Richards xxxiii). The subjects
that she discusses are subjects that are still debated today such as women
rulers, learning for women, and rape.
The first Biblical quotation in The Book of the City of Ladies occurs as
Christine is lamenting about the state of women in society before her vision.
She says, “Did you yourself not create women in a very special way,” referring
to Genesis (de Pizan 5). After she is asked to build the city, she is in awe of
the task, but she says, “I know well that nothing is impossible with God,” a
quote from Luke 1:37 or Matt 19:26 (de Pizan 15).
As she is building the walls of the city and talking to Reason, she asks Reason
about the saying “God made women to speak, weep, and sew,” wondering what
defense she can give to men who use it to attack women (de Pizan 27). Reason
responds that if tears are so bad, then why did Jesus weep when Lazarus was
dead? Also, she quotes stories where Jesus was moved by women’s tears and
performed a miracle—Mary Magdalene whose sins were forgiven, and the widow whose
son was dead and Jesus resurrected. Reason responds to the insinuation from the
saying that women cannot keep their mouths shut, by saying that if Jesus did not
approve of what women said, then why did he let a women proclaim the fact that
he had risen from the dead? Also, she tells stories of women, who through their
persistent words, got Jesus to do a miracle for them—the woman from Canaan whose
daughter was demon-possessed and Jesus healed her, and the woman at the well who
proclaimed to the entire city of the greatness of God.
Christine then asks Reason why women cannot argue legal cases. Reason responds
that “God has similarly ordained man and woman to serve him in different
offices” so there is no need for women to argue legal cases, when there are
plenty of men who will do just as well (de Pizan 31). She also cites some
historical women who have ruled well, showing that women can rule or be legal
advocates if necessary.
The next question Christine has is about women’s bodies. She asks why it is that
they are “the weaker sex.” Reason tells her that it is because when one thing is
lacking from a human body, God adds something even greater in its place. She
says that women should be glad that their bodies are weak and fragile, for that
keeps them from committing serious crimes like murder. Reason also says that
even though most women are weaker then men, some women still commit acts of
bravery and great strength. She tells Christine some stories about such women.
Christine then asks if women can be prudent in managing household affairs.
Reason replies that the vast majority of women are so. She quotes Proverbs 31
and then gives some examples of such women.
In the second section of the book, Christine and Rectitude are building the
inside of the City of Ladies. Rectitude begins her conversation with Christine
by telling her about prophetesses. She tells her about several women called
sibyls. She then tells her about Deborah, the prophetess from the Old Testament.
She mentions Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, who when she met a
pregnant Mary, knew that the child she carried was divine. Lastly, she tells of
Anna, the prophetess in the temple who recognized Jesus as her Savior when he
was brought to be circumcised. Next, she discusses pagan women. First on her
list is the Queen of Sheba. She tells about her visit to Solomon, and then tells
a legend about her. The legend is about a board that the Queen used to cross a
mud puddle. After walking across the puddle, she prophesies that the board, “now
held in such contempt and set under foot” would be one day honored alongside the
treasures of kings, and that someday, a man would die on the board (de Pizan
106). The legend is fulfilled when Jesus is crucified and he dies on a cross
made from the board.
After some discussion between Christine and Rectitude, Rectitude begins to tell
Christine of the benefits that women of the Bible have brought to the world. The
first woman she discusses is the Virgin Mary, who benefited the world by being
the mother of Jesus. Next, she tells about how three women saved Moses: his
mother, sister, and the Pharaoh’s daughter. She then talks about Esther, who
saved her people by appearing before the king without being summoned (which
carried a penalty of death if the king did not extend his scepter to you). She
discusses Rebecca, who was an example to all those around her by living an
“upright, virtuous, and honest” life (de Pizan 157). Her final Biblical heroine
is Ruth. She describes Ruth as devoted to her husband and mother-in-law, to the
extent that she left her home to be with them.
Christine’s next question to Rectitude is that men claim that most women are not
good, but evil, so how is she to respond to them? Rectitude says that most men
are not perfect either. She cites the city of Ninevah in Jonah, which was a
large city, but had no good men in it as well as the city of Sodom that God
destroyed in Genesis. She also notes that even amongst Jesus’ disciples, there
was one bad man. She concludes with, “when men are perfect, women will follow
their example” (de Pizan 186).
In the third section of the book, Justice brings the women to the city who will
live there. She appoints the Virgin Mary as the Queen of the city, and brings
many other saints as well. She tells Christine the story of each of these women.
Christine de Pizan was the first feminist, and she used the Bible to prove her
points. She did not believe, as many of her contemporaries did, that women were
lesser than men. She wanted women to have a place in society where they were not
looked down upon, and disparaged by men. She wrote The Book of the City of
Ladies to dream of a place where that would come true. She was not a radical
feminist, but she supported women.
Works Cited
Brabant, Margaret and Michael Brint. “Identity and Difference in Christine de
Pizan’s
Cité des Dames.” Politics, Gender, and Genre: The Political Thought of Christine
de Pizan. Ed. Margaret Brabant. Boulder and San Francisco: Westview Press,
1992. 207-222.
Bloesch, Donald G. Is the Bible Sexist? Beyond Feminism and Patriarchalism.
Illinois:
Crossway Books, 1982.
Cosman, Madeleine Pelner. “Christine de Pizan’s Well-Tempered Feminism.” A
Medieval Woman’s Mirror of Honor: The Treasury of the City of Ladies. By
Christine de Pizan. Trans. Charity Cannon Willard. Ed. Madeleine Pelner
Cosman. Bard Hall Press and Persea Books: New York and New Jersey, 1989.
11-26.
de Pizan, Christine. The Book of the City of Ladies. Trans. Earl Jeffrey
Richards. New
York: Persea Books, 1982.
Hill, Jim and Rand Cheadle. The Bible Tells Me So: Uses and Abuses of Holy
Scripture. New York: Anchor Books, 1996.
Raeper, William and Linda Edwards. A Brief Guide to Ideas. Grand Rapids,
Michigan:
Zondervan Publishing House, 1997.
Richards, Earl Jeffrey. Introduction. The Book of the City of Ladies. By
Christine de
Pizan. New York: Persea Books, 1982.
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady. The Woman’s Bible. 2 parts. New York: Arno Press, 1972.
Stevenson, Barbara. “Re-Visioning the Widow Christine de Pizan.” Crossing the
Bridge: Comparative Essays on Medieval European and Heian Japanese
Women Writers. Ed. Barbara Stevenson and Cynthia Ho. New York: Palgrave,
2000. 29-44.
Summit, Jennifer. Lost Property: The Woman Writer and English Literary History,
1380-1589. Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press, 2000.
Westling, Louise, et al. The World of Literature. New Jersey: Prentice Hall,
1999.
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