Reviews

The Book of the City of Ladies by Christine de Pizan

vynelda's review

4.0

I loved it! I especially loved part 1 because it was about numerous things that women invented and other achievements they accomplished. I discovered that the women from Roman mythology are based on real women who did great things. This book was filled with lots of treasures. Christine was responding to negative things that men in her day had said about women, and was giving lots of examples that refuted the men's claims.

I loved most of part 2. There were lots of great stories. Some of the stories near the end, though, I disliked because they were about women who tolerated their horrible husbands.

I hated part 3, because it talked about the tortures that the saints suffered. It was difficult for me to read about people treating other people in such a terrible way.

mintyfreshsocks's review

3.0

Quite interesting book. Not a text I'd recommend for people wanting to talk about feminism in the modern world, especially outside the context of Catholic feminism, but still surprisingly fresh and applicable for today; there were moments where the text felt incredibly contemporary.

bastiat's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.25

angelbby99's review against another edition

informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition

3.0

This is the sequel or companion piece to Pisan’s City of Ladies. This book is about how ladies of various social levels should comport themselves even when their husbands are being jerks. It is a strange combination of feminist work and endorsement of the stereotype. Pisan does get in some nice zingers about men, not only about how they should also follow this advice, but about why they are more warlike than women. In many ways, it is an anti-Prince.

annie_media's review against another edition

4.0

hann_thea's review against another edition

4.0

Wird dieses Werk einem modernen Feminismus gerecht? Nein, natürlich nicht. Christine lebte in einer Zeit vor dem Buchdruck, in einer Zeit, in der die weibliche Stimme, das weibliche Leben, das weibliche Schaffen ganz anderen Bedingungen unterworfen war, als dreihundert Jahre später. Und  vor dem Kontext der hochgradig misogynen Texte des späten Mittelalters muss ich sagen: Wow, meine QUEEN Christine! Sie nutzt Mystik wirklich als eine Form der weiblichen Selbstermächtigung, spricht gegen Vorurteile, wie dss Frauen dumm wären, spricht sich gegen sexuelle Gewalt aus und teilt ordentlich aus, auch gegen Größen wie Boccaccio und Ovid. Sie erzählt dabei die Geschichten vieler Frauen der Geschichte und Literatur, mit ganz unterschiedlichen weiblichen Lebensentwürfen. Jede Erwartung, die ich an ein Buch aus dieser Zeit aus feministischer Perspektive hätte haben können, wurde übertroffen. Christine de Pizan ist ihrer Zeit weit vorraus und ihre Argumente sind zum Teil immer noch brandaktuell!

marisaksandoval's review

4.0

"O cruel stone wall, you cause me and my loved one such suffering
that, if you had any compassion at all, you would crack a little so that I
could at least catch a glimpse of my beloved."

The City of Ladies is a stunning peek into French lit in the 16th century and I adored reading it.

zaida_riquelme's review against another edition

4.0

written in the late 1300s, ms. pizan rages against men saying stupid shit like "girls are bad at math." the centuries roll forth and not much changes, eh?

literaturesoup's review

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5