The Book of the City of Ladies

by Christine Pizan

  ‘My lady, from what you’ve told me, I can see that woman is a very noble creature. Yet, all the same, wasn’t it Cicero who said that man should not be subject to woman and that he who did so abased himself because it is wrong to be subject to one who is your inferior?’

  Reason answered, ‘It is he or she who is the more virtuous who is the superior being: human superiority or inferiority is not determined by sexual difference but by the degree to which one has perfected one’s nature and morals. Thus, happy is he who serves the Virgin Mary, for she is exalted even above the angels.’

  ‘My lady, it was one of the Catos, the one who was a great orator, who declared that if woman hadn’t been created, man would converse with the gods.’

  Reason’s reply was: ‘Now you see an example of someone who was supposed to be very wise coming out with something very foolish. It is because of woman that man sits side by side with God. 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. Humankind has now become one with God, which never would have happened if Eve hadn’t sinned. Both men and women should praise this fault of Eve’s since it is because of her that such an honour has been bestowed on them. If human nature is fallen, due to the actions of one of God’s creatures, it has been redeemed by the Creator Himself. As for conversing with the gods if womankind hadn’t been invented, as this Cato claims, his words were truer than he knew. Being a pagan, he and those of his faith believed that both heaven and hell were ruled by the gods. But the ones in hell are what we call devils. So it’s definitely true to say that men would be conversing with the gods of hell if Mary had not come into the world!’

  10. More questions and answers on this subject.

  ‘It was also this Cato Uticensis who said that a woman who is attractive to a man is like a rose which is lovely to look at but hides its sharp thorns underneath.’7

  Reason replied: ‘Once again, he was wiser than he knew, this Cato, because every decent, upright woman who leads a virtuous life is, and should be, one of the loveliest things to behold. Yet the thorn represents both her fear of doing wrong and her contrition, which are lodged deep in the heart of such a woman and make her reserved, cautious and prudent in order to protect herself.’

  ‘My lady, is it true what certain authors have said about women being by nature gluttonous and prone to overindulgence?’

  ‘My dear girl, you must have often heard the saying, “What is in our nature cannot be taken away.” It would be very surprising if they were naturally so inclined when in fact so few of them ever actually frequent taverns and other such establishments which sell rich and intoxicating fare. It is extremely rare to find women in these places: not from shame, as some might suggest, but rather, in my opinion, because they are naturally disposed to avoid them altogether. Even if women were given over to gluttony and yet managed to restrain their appetites out of a sense of shame, they should be praised for showing such virtue and strength of character. As we’re on this subject, don’t you remember that on a feast day a little while ago you were talking outside your house with your neighbour, a respectable young lady. You saw a man coming out of a tavern who said to his friend: “I’ve just spent so much in the inn that my wife won’t have any wine to drink today.” You called him over and asked him why she wouldn’t do so. He replied: “My lady, it’s because every time I come home from the tavern she asks me how much I’ve spent. If it’s more than twelve deniers,8 she makes up for this cost by refraining from drinking herself. Her view is that we don’t earn enough for the two of us to be able to indulge ourselves so heavily.” ’

  ‘My lady,’ I replied, ‘I remember this incident very well.’

  Reason then said to me: ‘With many examples such as these, you can see that women are inherently sober creatures and that those who aren’t go against their own nature. There is no worse vice in women than gluttony, because whoever is gluttonous is susceptible to all kinds of other vices too. Instead, it’s well known that women flock to churches in great numbers to listen to sermons, to make their confessions and to say their daily prayers.’

  ‘My lady, you’re quite right,’ I said, ‘but some writers make out that, in fact, women go to church all dressed and made up in order to show themselves off to men and find themselves lovers.’

  Her reply was: ‘That might be true, my dear friend, if it was only pretty young girls who went to church. But, if you notice, for every young woman that you see, there are twenty or thirty old women attending services and dressed in plain, modest clothes. Moreover, women are not just pious but also charitable. After all, who is it that visits the sick and attends to their needs? Who gives aid to the poor? Who goes to the hospitals? Who helps bury the dead? To my mind, these are the tasks that women perform and which are like milestones on the road that leads to God.’

  ‘My lady, you’ve put it very clearly. Yet, there is another author who has said that women are by nature weak-minded and childish, which explains why they get on so well with children and why children like being with them.’

  She replied, ‘My dear daughter, if you look carefully at the nature of a child, you will see that it is instinctively attracted to kindness and gentleness. And what could be kinder or gentler than a respectable woman? It’s truly wicked of people to try to turn something which is good and praiseworthy in a woman – her tenderness – into something bad and blameworthy. Women love children because they’re acting not out of ignorance but rather a natural instinct to be gentle. And if being gentle therefore means that they are childlike, so much the better for them. Remember the story the gospels tell about what Jesus Christ said to his apostles when they were arguing amongst themselves as to who would be the greatest of them all? He called a child to him and laid his hand on its head saying, “I tell you that he who is humble and meek like a child will be the greatest among you, for he who abases himself will be exalted whereas he who exalts himself will be abased.” ’9

  ‘My lady, men have made a great deal of mileage out of mocking women because of a Latin proverb which says that “God made woman to weep, talk and spin”.’10

  Reason’s reply was: ‘My dear Christine, this is absolutely true, though it’s not meant to be a criticism, despite what some might claim. It’s a fine thing that God endowed women with such qualities because many have been saved thanks to their tears, words and distaffs. In answer to those who have attacked women for weeping, I would say that if Jesus Christ, who could read directly into human hearts and minds, had thought that women only wept because they were weak or simple-minded, he would never have lowered himself in his majesty to let fall tears from his own saintly eyes out of compassion at the sight of Martha and Mary Magdalene weeping for their dead brother, the leper,11 whom he brought back to life. Indeed, God has showered women with so many favours precisely because He has been moved by their weeping. Far from despising Mary Magdalene’s tears, He appreciated them so much that He forgave her all her sins. It is thanks to her weeping that she is now living in heavenly glory.

  ‘Nor did God scorn the tears of the widow who wept for her only son as he was being laid in the ground. When Christ saw her weeping, his compassion gushed forth like a fountain of mercy at the sight of her tears. Asking her, “Woman, why are you crying?”, he straightaway brought back her child from the dead.12 The Holy Scriptures tell of so many other miracles which God has performed in the past and still does perform for the sake of a woman’s tears. Indeed, the tears shed by a pious woman have often been the cause of her own salvation or that of those for whom she has been praying. Take the example of Saint Augustine, the holy Father of the Church, who was converted to Christianity by his mother’s weeping. The good lady never stopped crying and praying to God to shine the light of faith into the unbelieving heart of her heathen son. Because of her persistence, Saint Ambrose, whom she used to implore to pray to God to save her son, was moved to
say: “Woman, I believe that your tears will surely not be shed in vain.” Blessed Ambrose, you didn’t dismiss a woman’s tears as trivial. What one should say to anybody coming out with this opinion is that it was thanks to the tears of a woman that Saint Augustine, this holy luminary, now shines his light down from the altar and illuminates the whole of Christendom. So men really should have nothing more to say on this point.

  ‘God similarly endowed women with speech, thank the Lord, for if He hadn’t done so, they would all have remained dumb. But let’s go back to that proverb, which somebody has obviously just cobbled together to get at women. If women’s speech had been as unreliable and worthless as some maintain, Our Lord Jesus Christ would never have allowed news of such a glorious miracle as his resurrection to be announced first by a woman, as he told the blessed Magdalene to do when he appeared to her first on Easter day and sent her to inform Peter and the other apostles. Praise be to God for having bestowed so many gifts and favours on women by wishing them to become the bearers of such great glad tidings.’

  I said to Reason, ‘My lady, these envious men would all be reduced to silence if they could see the truth of the matter. I’ve just remembered something that makes me smile, something silly which I’ve heard men and even foolish preachers say about Christ appearing first to a woman because he knew she couldn’t keep her mouth shut and so the news of his resurrection would spread all the faster.’

  Reason replied, ‘My dear daughter, you’re quite right to say that it’s only fools who have come out with this view. They’re not just criticizing women but also going so far as to suggest that Jesus Christ blasphemed when he said that such a perfect and holy mystery could be revealed by a vice. I don’t know how men can dare say such a thing. Even if they’re only joking, they shouldn’t do so at the Lord’s expense.

  ‘To get back to your first point: it was a fine thing that the woman from Canaan should have been such a talker since she never stopped shrieking and shouting out to Christ as he went through the streets of Jerusalem, begging him to have pity on her and cure her sick daughter.13 And what did Our Lord do, he who has always been an endless fountain of mercy and who shows compassion at the least little word spoken truly from the heart? He seemed to take delight in the unending flow of words and prayers pouring out of this woman’s mouth. Why? Because he wanted to test her constancy. When he used harsh words to compare her to a dog for not being of the Christian faith, she did not flinch but rather replied most intelligently, saying: “Lord, that is absolutely true, but little dogs feed off the crumbs which fall from the master’s table.” What a wise woman! Who taught you to speak like that? You won your case thanks to the modest words which you spoke from a pure heart. This was made clear when Christ turned to his apostles, declaring that nowhere in the whole of Israel had he ever come across such faith as in this woman, and then granted her request. One cannot praise highly enough this honour shown to women which the envious seek to denigrate, when one sees that Jesus Christ found greater faith in the heart of a poor little heathen woman than in all the bishops, princes and priests, not to mention the whole of the Jewish race who claimed to be God’s chosen people.

  ‘The Samaritan woman is another example of one whose persuasive words redounded to her glory when she went to the well to draw water and met Christ who was sitting there all dejected.14 Blessed was this noble body in which God chose to manifest Himself, deigning to pour forth such words of comfort from His holy mouth into this little female sinner who was not even a Christian. That was clear proof that He does not despise the female sex. How many of our great bishops today would condescend to speak to such a humble little woman, even if her salvation was at stake?

  ‘The woman who was listening to one of Jesus’s sermons was no less wise in her speech when she was set alight by his holy words.15 She is a good example of that saying that women can’t keep quiet, since she covered herself in glory for jumping up and shouting out, “Blessed be the womb that bore you and the breasts which fed you!”

  ‘My dear, sweet friend, you can now surely see that God gave women the power of speech so that they might serve Him. They shouldn’t therefore be criticized for something which has done so much good and so little harm, since women’s words rarely hurt anyone.

  ‘As for spinning, God made this into women’s natural domain, and it is an activity which is essential for serving Him and for the good of all rational beings. Without it, the world would be in a vile state. So it’s the height of wickedness to reproach women for something for which they should be thanked, honoured and praised.’

  11. Christine asks Reason why women aren’t allowed in courts of law, and Reason’s reply.

  ‘Most honourable and worthy lady, your excellent arguments have satisfied my curiosity in so many areas. Yet, if you don’t mind, I’d like you to explain to me why women are allowed neither to present a case at a trial, nor bear witness, nor pass sentence since some men have claimed that it’s all because of some woman or other who behaved badly in a court of law.’

  ‘My dear daughter, that whole ridiculous story is a malicious fabrication. However, if you wanted to know the causes and reasons behind everything, you would never get to the end of it. Even Aristotle, though he explained many things in his Problemata and Categories, was not equal to the task. But, dear Christine, to come back to your question, you might as well ask why God didn’t command men to perform women’s tasks and women those of men. In answer, one could say that just as a wise and prudent lord organizes his household into different domains and operates a strict division of labour amongst his workforce, so God created man and woman to serve Him in different ways and to help and comfort one another, according to a similar division of labour. To this end, He endowed each sex with the qualities and attributes which they need to perform the tasks for which they are cut out, even though sometimes humankind fails to respect these distinctions. God gave men strong, powerful bodies to stride about and to speak boldly, which explains why it is men who learn the law and maintain the rule of justice. In those instances where someone refuses to uphold the law which has been established by right, men must enforce it through the use of arms and physical strength, which women clearly could not do. Even though God has often endowed many women with great intelligence, it would not be right for them to abandon their customary modesty and to go about bringing cases before a court, as there are already enough men to do so. Why send three men to carry a burden which two can manage quite comfortably?

  ‘However, if there are those who maintain that women aren’t intelligent enough to learn the law, I would contradict them by citing numerous examples of women of both the past and the present who were great philosophers and who excelled in many disciplines which are much more difficult than simply learning the laws and the statutes of men. I’ll tell you more about these women in a moment. Moreover, in reply to those who think that women are lacking in the ability to govern wisely or to establish good customs, I’ll give you examples from history of several worthy ladies who mastered these arts. To give you a better idea of what I’m saying, I’ll even cite you a few women from your own time who were widowed and whose competence in organizing and managing their households after their husbands’ deaths attests to the fact that an intelligent woman can succeed in any domain.’

  12. About the Empress Nicaula.

  ‘Tell me, if you can, whether you have ever read about a king who was more skilled in politics, statesmanship and justice and who maintained a more magnificent court than the great Empress Nicaula? The many different vast and extensive lands which she held under her dominion were ruled by the famous kings known as pharaohs, from whom she herself was descended. However, it was this lady who first established laws and good customs in her realm, thus putting end once and for all to the primitive ways of the people in the countries under her control, even to the savage habits of the bestial Ethiopians. Those authors who have written about Nicaula praise her in particular for the way in which she brought civili
zation to her subjects. She was the heir of the pharaohs, inheriting a huge territory which included the kingdoms of Arabia, Ethiopia, Egypt and the island of Meroë, a long, broad stretch of land, which was extremely fertile, located in the middle of the Nile. She governed all of her territory with exemplary skill. What more can I tell you about this lady? Nicaula was so wise and so powerful that even the Holy Scriptures speak of her great abilities. She herself established just laws by which to rule her people. In nobility and wealth, she surpassed almost any man who ever lived. She was extremely well versed in both the arts and the sciences and was so proud that she never condescended to take a husband nor wanted any man to be at her side.’

  13. About a queen of France called Fredegunde, and other French queens and princesses.

  ‘I could give you many examples of women of the distant past who governed well, and what I will now go on to tell you about also illustrates my point. In France lived Queen Fredegunde, wife of King Chilperic. Although this lady was unnaturally cruel for a woman, she none the less ruled over the kingdom of France most wisely after her husband’s death. At that time, the country was in grave danger, since her young son Clotar was the only surviving heir to the throne. The barons were fiercely divided as to who should rule and war had already broken out in the country. This lady never let her child out of her arms as she called the barons together and told them: “My lords, behold your king. Don’t forget that we French have always been renowned for our loyalty, so don’t betray this boy just because he’s a child. God willing, he will grow up and, when he comes of age, he will remember those who supported him and will reward them for their loyalty, provided you do not commit the sinful error of disinheriting him. You can also be sure that I, for my part, will show my gratitude to those who stick by me and I guarantee that they shall want for nothing in the future.” In this way, the queen appeased the barons and, by her skilful handling of power, managed to save her son from his enemies. She even brought him up herself and crowned him with her own hands. All this would have been impossible if she had been lacking in prudence.