In this reading of Christine de Pizan’s
the Book of the Three Virtues, it
states that “[this] is a handbook for women in society-not in the idealized
society of the city but in the dangerous courts, cities, and countryside of
Christine’s own time” (155). The three allegorical ladies with the help of
Christine build the City of Ladies where great women thrive under the
protection from the evils that can corrupt their virtuousness and destroy their
devotion to God. There becomes a problem for those who do not dwell in the
city, which the three ladies guide Christine to write this handbook to instruct
them to be virtuous and devoted to God.
A good portion of the reading focuses
upon the good princess and the several ways for these noble women to become
virtuous through their devotion to God. The good princess is told to “be as much
as a peacemaker as possible” (164). Because of her status in the nobility, the
princess or queen with their peaceful nature must aid the noble men in their
decisions concerning war to avoid bloodshed. Along with the efforts in
peacemaking, the princess must set an example of sobriety and chastity. The
princess must “[pertain] to the moral life she wants to lead…” and “… to the
rules she will follow in her lifestyle” (166). Because of her higher position
in society, she is given many worldly things and must not let those things affect
her virtuousness and devotion to God.
With the higher position in society, the
noble class of women stands apart from other classes of women in that they have
more worldly things to possibly corrupt their virtue. When discussing the ways
for immoral women of the lower class to earn a living, the text states “… And
in this way she could serve God and earn her living. One penny earned honestly
would do her more good than a hundred earned in sin” (172). Even though the lower
classes have less money and worldly things, they still must do everything in
the fear and love for God to obtain virtuousness.
Possibly, this lifestyle of devotion to
God may be easier for the lower classes than the noble class. So the initial
focus is upon the noble women and how they must live moral lives of the
devotion to God. The others hopefully will follow these examples of virtuousness.
The princess that follows these virtues is said to “detest books about
dishonest and lubricious things and will not have them at her court and will
not let them be brought before her daughter, relative, or lady in waiting, for
their is no doubt that examples of good or evil influence the minds of those
who see or hear them” (167). If the noble woman surrounds herself with and
becomes influenced by those evil books, it will also influence the others
around her. Noble women are surrounded with different classes of people such as
her subjects, her relatives, and her servants, which become influenced by the
noble woman’s behavior and characteristics.
The three allegorical women begin the
focus of this handbook upon the noble class of women because they have a large
influence upon society. They use the good princess as an example to go through
the ideals of being a virtuous woman. If she is a virtuous and God-fearing
woman, many others around her will be influenced by those ideals because of her
high position in society. Thus, the women outside of the City of Ladies must strive
for a virtuous lifestyle and defend themselves from the evils of society by the
instruction of this handbook created.
I appreciate Liezel's exploration of the different classes discussed in de Pizan's "Book of the Three Virtues," especially her observations on de Pizan's focus on the upper class. I think one point which could help Liezel's post is the recognition of two different classes of the poor discussed in the text. The quote Liezel uses in her post is drawn from the chapter on prostitutes. The chapter is described as being on "Women Who Lead Immoral Lives" (170), and the women in the chapter earn money in sin (as described in Liezel's blog). These poor women are very different from "the wives of laborers who often can lead more honest lives than women in high places since there are fewer temptations in simple surroundings" (172). Recognizing the two different types of poor women and the differing advice given to each of them furthers understanding of the class hierarchy explained in Liezel's post.
ReplyDeleteIs the best way for women to keep themselves occupied in defense against the evils of society serving their husbands? In the first reading in which she begins by contemplating the origins of men's vilification of women, it seems a little contradictory to propose women should subjugate themselves by purposing to please their husbands like Book 3 describes. De Beauvoir would not like that. But I guess as long as they're cleaning up the kitchen in the name of the lord, it doesn't matter if they become the second sex or not.
ReplyDeleteIn reponse to Eric's comment, I do not think that the focus on women's duty to their husband is a shift from the type of behavior that de Pizan promotes for women in the previous reading. Even though the text does argue that men and women are equal, this is still contained within typical gender roles.
ReplyDeleteTo continue Kyra's point, Pizan notes in "The Book of the City of Ladies" that "just as a wise and well-organized lord arranges his household so that people do different tasks...in the same way God has established man and woman to serve him in different tasks and also to help and comfort one another," (134). This shows that while Pizan opposes the subjugation of women, she accepts the notion of inherent gender roles. This explains her command in "The Book of Three Virtues" to all the women in the city that "the wise housewife must know everything about her household," (168). Her reasoning behind this is so that her husband "can always be reassured when he invites people to dinner," (168). Therefore, this house maker gender role is not about women necessarily being inferior, but because it provides balance and stability in her relation to man. Pizan emphasizes the importance of husband and wife providing for each other what the other cannot. In this way, the traditional gender roles she suggests promote a sense of peace.
ReplyDeleteI think that Liezel's point concerning the audience is very revealing. De Pizan considers the upper class to have more corrupting influences. De Pizan wishes that God had "put her into this world as a poor woman" (162) that she could better take up the active lifestyle. Only the rich can afford to completely seclude themselves. The poor must make do with the active lifestyle -- though it is not a bad path, it is less virtuous.
ReplyDeleteTo go off of Liezel's point about prostitutes, I found that de Pizan had no pity for those who did not actively and successfully find God. She says that the three main reasons that prostitutes make excuses to not find God are "not valid, for one can find a remedy everyone of them" (171). She then goes on to explain how each reason is invalid. But, what I find interesting is that she is speaking as a woman who has recently discovered women's role in her surroundings. It seems a little judgmental for her to be so vociferously speaking out against women who haven't quite figured it out when she herself did have it figured out until recently.
ReplyDelete