Cyberia - The City of Ladies

Christine de Pizan at Her Computer
Illustration by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

–submitted to the City of Ladies by Genece Hamby

Everyday new travellers arrive at the City of Ladies and look in wonder at this magnificent city, built upon the foundation stones that Christine de Pizan laid.

Recitude, Reason and Justice
City of Ladies
by Heather Blakey August 2006

“Since I serve to demonstrate clearly and to show both in thought and deed to each man and woman his or her own special qualities and faults, you see me holding this shining mirror which I carry in my right hand in place of a scepter. I would thus have you know truly that no one can look into this mirror, no matter what kind of creature, without achieving clear self-knowledge.”
from The Book of the City of Ladies by Christine de Pizan

Christine de Pizan (1365-1430) is considered the first European woman to make her living as a professional writer. The widow of a French court official, de Pizan was forced by this circumstance to provide for herself, her children, and several other family members. She took on the task of educating herself and astutely began writing for the tastes of the courtiers. Besides writing love ballads and romantic poetry, she actively engaged in literary debates, which eventually brought her to the attention of a number of wealthy patrons.

Appalled by misogynistic themes common to popular literature of the period, de Pizan penned The Book of the City of Ladies in 1405 where she argues that woman are not inferior to men. What is unique about the book is that it does not draw on traditional male voices of authority. Rather, she creates a chorus of female voices, in the characters of Rectitude, Justice, and Reason, to battle common negative female stereotypes.

For more information about Christine de Pizan’s life and creative work, please visit Wikipedia.