By Nathan Garrett
When many of us think of all the extraordinary women authors from the days of yore—the incredible women who have made important and substantial contributions to history’s canonical body of written works—names that most often come to mind are Emily Dickinson, Jane Austen, and Virginia Woolf; just to name a few. However, there is one woman who is usually overlooked and completely underappreciated. That woman is Christine de Pizan.
An extraordinary woman in her own right, de Pizan became a voice for the voiceless, and an advocate for those who were misrepresented. These endeavor eventually subjected her to a kind of literary firestorm. In fact, Madame de Pizan was a pioneer for feminism, and ultimately the most influential voice for all women in her day.
The compass of her life moved in medieval times, during the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. A French poet, author, journalist, and women’s rights activist―her prolific legacy was galvanized by the injustice, slander and cruelty women faced so extensively at the time. While the works of many male writers (men of the Church and aristocracy) dominated in print, claiming their portrayals of women and courtly relationships as irrefutably accurate―Christine de Pizan proved inarguable in her The Book of the City of Ladies. She spotlighted the glaring inaccuracies of the representations of women, writing to present women in a fair, pure, and just light. This is the enterprise, which ultimately commences her quest for truth.
Though her words contested the male domination of society, de Pizan continued to bear herself well even through many fierce social attacks. Madame de Pizan’s life, offers many extremely beneficial insights even for today: They provide us with a recognition of the vast potential in both difficulty and hardship to propel us toward greater versions of ourselves; they emphasize the importance of holding fast to your moral beliefs; and they testify to the power of courage, and the belief that one voice is not too small to be heard. Of the many medieval writers vying to find their voice, Christine de Pizan’s championing works of literature and poetry were indeed the most influential and important works in her day.
Born in 1364, in Venice, Italy, she died in 1430 in Poissy, France. She is recognized today as the first professional female author in not only all of France―but possibly all of Europe, as well. Her introduction into the highly important and publicized circle of writers was not so much a desire as it was a reaction to the slanderous things being written of women at the time.
Christine married at the age of fifteen. She was educated as a child, but did not begin writing until many years later. However, just ten short years into her marriage, de Pizan would find herself a widow with three children, he1r010 mother, and a niece to provide for. These challenges, along with many others, forced Christine to find some way to attain means for her family. Thus, she turned to writing.
She began her career with balladic poems, most of them having been written to the memory of her late husband. Much to her delight, her poems were well-received and even succeeded in making her famous. Naturally, as Christine herself was educated as a child, she believed that not only were women entitled to all the privileges of education, but that education would make a truly profound difference in the lives of women (The Irish Audio Project). In her story The Book of the City of Ladies, Christine writes: “If it were customary to send little girls to school and teach them the same subjects as are taught to boys, they would learn just as fully and would understand the subtleties of all arts and sciences.”
She believed greatly in the power of the written word, and wrote with great conviction and intention. She achieved this only through surviving the fray of a personal life wrought with much loss and a substantial challenges. Life was very hard for her, but she did not relent―and in taking heart amidst the tumultuous times in her life―she grew and excelled where others had not.
Based on what we know of Madame de Pizan’s life, she was a wholly moral person. Through all the slander against both herself and the women she sought to exonerate, she stayed ever true to what she believed. The conviction with which she writes defines her unshakeable beliefs. She did not hate the men who wrote so maliciously of women, but rather she simply endeavored to paint a truer picture of women’s true character. Moreover, she always presented her claims from a women’s perspective. This style would become the greatest element and catalyst in her cause.
The overarching message in the works written by unapologetic men justified the rape of women, slandered all women, and ultimately questioned the place of women in society. Some texts even suggested the notion that all women have been or will be whores, whether by action or intention (The Irish Audio Project, “The First Feminist”). Yet Christine so elegantly retorted: “The man or the woman in who resides greater virtue is the higher; neither the loftiness nor the lowliness of a person lies in the body according to the sex, but in the perfection of conduct and virtues” (The Book of the City of Ladies).
Christine de Pizan challenged the male dominated society of her world. She was the first writer, male or female, to have a say in the layout and illustration of her manuscripts. She is recognized as the first professional author in France and possibly all of Europe (The Irish Audio Project). The impertinence men displayed sharpened her words and her message. Until women were no longer judged by gender, but through their personalities and abilities―just as men were judged―Madame de Pizan would forever raise her voice through the incomparable power of her pen.
Daring to address the most sacrosanct of all topics, Christine de Pizan even evoked the Bible:
“As for those who state that it is thanks to a woman; the lady Eve; that man was expelled from paradise, my answer to them would be that man has gained far more through Mary than he ever lost through Eve….How was she created? I’m not sure if you realize this, but it was in God’s image. How can anybody dare to speak ill of something which bears such a noble imprint…”
“There Adam slept, and God formed the body of a woman from one of his ribs, signifying that she should stand at his side as a companion and never lie at his feet like a slave, and also that he should love her as his own flesh”
(The Book of the City of Ladies).
As time has proven, Christine de Pizan’s pursuits were not in vain. She did make a difference. That is undeniable. Although her most notable work, The Book of the City of Ladies, was written about a symbolic city where women were appreciated wholeheartedly, it was her ambitious hope nonetheless that women could be revered in just such a way. Her story portrayed a type of utopian city―one that existed only upon the pages upon of which it was written.
Beyond the pages of her book, much work and refinement was still needed if reality were ever to mirror the noble ideals of which she wrote. She wielded her words with amazing authority and precision. With great poise, Christine de Pizan spoke of life’s inequities that are unequivocally true and undoubtedly timeless. Perhaps, through these few thoughts the whole of how she felt about women’s rights and the contributions women made to society―nay humanity―we can understand why she felt so compelled to speak out.
Certainly, through these few extractions of text we can witness the weight of her heart. We, too, can see that she loved and did not hate. Christine de Pizan was determined to communicate to all men―that all women were strong, and equal, and wholly necessary― but most importantly, that their lives and their dignity deserved to be honored and preserved.
The Book of the City of the Ladies was Christine de Pizan’s quest for truth. When she writes of Adam asleep in the garden at the moment God approaches to modify humanity in the most remarkable way―this is her call to men―this is her plea. She is presents a case to these writers of chivalric romance, and she is saying: this is love. This is the height of value at which we as women desire to be held―and if you do love us, if you recognize this noble and indelible imprint, do reconsider your position. Return to us our worth.
She, and she alone, wrote with the weight and desire of all this―to see a change come to pass―and to give her vision to all of us.
Works Cited
“Christine de Pisan.” Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.
De Pizan, Christine. The Book of the City of Ladies. Trans. Brown-Grant, Rosalind.
London: Penguin Books, 1999. Print.
Kelly, Douglas. Christine de Pizan’s Changing
Opinion: A Quest for Certainty in the Midst of Chaos. Suffolk, GBR: D.S. Brewer,
2007. Print.
Kelsch, Anne. Spishak, S. Christine de Pisan, The Book of the City of Ladies, 1405.Hanover College. Web. 28, Nov. 2014.
The Irish Audio Project. “The First Feminist.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 25 July 2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.
Image: Christine de Pisan via the Wikimedia Commons