Discussion Topics for Christine de Pizan’s Book of the City of Ladies

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Michael Miller
  • How would you describe the genre of the Book? How does it differ in genre from what we’ve been reading so far?
  • The Book makes use of several rhetorical devices you’d expect from a persuasive argument. How many can you find? How effectively are they used by Christine?
  • In what specific ways does Christine adapt her classical source material for a Christian audience? (see esp. pp. 791, 799, 801)
  • Several of Christine’s heroines are warriors and/or tacticians (Semiramis, the various Amazon queens, Dido). How do their military ethics compare to those of other warriors we’ve read of (Achilles, Arjuna, Iskander, etc.)?
  • Reason advises Christine to read misogynistic texts “to [her] advantage, no matter what the author’s original intention was.” Is this a valid reading strategy? When is it ok to disregard an author’s to suit our own argument?
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