Christine de Pizan.
The Book of the City of Ladies.
London: Picador, 1983.
Softcover.
281 pages.
Very good.
Minor edgewear and soiling to covers.
“That this book has been unknown for so long
is nothing less than a tragedy for women”.
- Judy Chicago
”
Christine was disheartened by what she saw as the misogyny of much court literature, especially the famous French dream vision The Romance of the Rose. She decided to write a work which would treat women in a more positive light. In The City of Ladies, Christine imagines falling asleep and being visited by three personified virtues – Reason, Rectitude and Justice – who arrive and tell her that she has been chosen by God to set the record straight about women. They direct her to build a metaphorical city which will house a group of worthy heroines and protect women against attack.”
