Great Works of Literature I, Spring 2020 – Online – Two

In the essay “Of the Inconsistency of Our Actions,” Montaigne makes a claim that “to judge a man, we must follow his traces long and carefully.” “A man who does not have a picture of the whole in his head cannot possibly arrange the pieces.” While I agree that humans are inconsistent, I do not agree with this sentiment that it is a negative characteristic. Like Montaigne mentions earlier in the essay, “we do not go; we are carried away.” We are subject to the changing environments, both internally and externally, and as a result of that, changed in the person themselves will obviously follow. That is just a necessary characteristic propelling the progression of their character to meet the demands of those changing environments. Even if a person has the picture in their minds, sometimes they are not in control of the arrangement. Without those twists and turns, which gives the mission purpose, they will be disingenuous in their self-proclaimed paths, and does not make a better person than someone who is inconsistent.

One rather weird way to think of nature getting its way is through Book 2 – Chapter XXX Of a monstrous child. Here he uses the image of a deformed child at birth and states that although it’s deformed, it is part of nature’s plan. And nature’s plan here is referenced to the Eyes of God, as he states that what we call a deformity or monsters are not so to God. ANd God has “comprehended therein” that there are infinite forms. From what I understand of this confusing chapter, it’s about we should accept what nature gives us and expel any astonishment or shock that a new form brings along with it. And we should love them equally, as they are still God’s children.

Christine de Pizan has been described as the first professional writer necessitated by her social class and gender. She is the writer of the Middle Ages who hews to let us a better understanding of what is to be a woman living in times; when women were not allowed to work, did not have a voice, or be independent. “…which made me wonder why on earth it was that so many men, both clerks, and others, have said and continue to say and write such awful, demining things about women and their ways” (Pizan 783).

She understands the challenges of women living in the 14^th century. She wants to show other women achievements throughout history to bake the stereotypical outlook about them. “…who all seem to speak with one voice and are unanimous in their view that female nature is wholly given up to vice” ( Pizan 783).

Pizan is defending women’s capabilities and virtues to motivate women in order to learn from them. In her first part of the book, she introduces to us the three Virtues- Reason, Rectitude, and Justice. Christine tells stories of 11 ladies of politics and military accomplishments, 18 ladies of learning, and 4 ladies of prudence. In the second part of the book, Pizan talks about ladies who exemplify virtuous conduct, and in the third section, she includes discussions of various holy women.

Christine constructed an ethical guideline using examples of all those powerful women from history to show the importance of female contributions in culture and society. “… futures women who ruled cities and empires, including Dido of Carthage and Semiramis of Babylon” (Pizan 782).  Pizan wants women of her time and any woman in the future to navigate her life to be successful in man’s world.

Michel de Montaigne begins Essays with an appeal to the reader: “I have had no thought of serving either of you or my own glory… I want to be seen here in my simple, natural, ordinary fashion, without straining or artifice; for it is myself that I portray”. From the first lines, the author appears to be honest and opens about his thoughts, feelings, and habits. Montaigne writes about the importance of self-observance and self-reflection. He is trying to know and understand himself to understand the others, and during this constant journey of self-reflection, the author emphasizes the inconstancy and the imperfection of the humans. However, Montaigne does not blame it on the evil nature or original sin like medieval authors. He encourages the reader to accept themselves the way they are because their imperfections are the true beauty of human essence.

Montaigne wrote his views on fear in the eighteenth chapter of his essays. He thinks fear is more terrifying than death. In the article, the nobles were scared to death when they knew the enemy was coming, soldiers were killed by their companions as enemies because of fear, and soldiers killed themselves because of fear. Fear can control people’s thoughts and lives. I agree with Montaigne’s idea because we may face fear at any time. Once we cannot control our own thoughts, it is easy to make the wrong choice because of fear. Fear can make us died and hurt others around us.

I found Montaigne’s essays to be a little bit confusing, but after some research, I started to understand him and his ideas a little better. Being that Montaigne’s essay were written during the Renaissance, a time of enlightenment give the essays a whole different meaning. One of the major themes that I saw in the essays was the idea of individualism which was a major component of Renaissance times, where people were expressing themselves more than ever. It is quite unique how Montaigne uses his life and his experiences to fuel the concepts of his essays. Some people may view this thought of individualism to be selfish but in contrary it was a time of self expression and Montaigne motivated and influenced many others including William Shakespeare to find themselves through his writings. A great quote by Montaigne states “I do not care so much what I am to others as I care what I am to myself” which may seem selfish but undeniably demonstrates his idea of individualism. For Montaigne, he knew that it was important to know about himself and that in order to understand the world around him he would need find who he is. Montaigne’s essays and view of individualism had a significant influence on art and literature through the French Renaissance and for generations to come.

Pizan emphasizes virginity and chastity as some of the hallmarks of good character as there was widespread agreement among people in the 1400s, particularly of men, that the perfect woman should consist of these traits. As Pizan is appealing to a largely male audience, she wants to use ideas that they are familiar with in order to better sway their negative opinions on women. To add on, virginity and chastity juxtapose the characterization of prostitution and fornication commonly bestowed on women bymen. Furthermore, virginity and chastity also juxtapose the overlooked corruption of men. Pizan gives multiple examples of bitter men who spoke of women as vile creatures who did nothing but sleep around when they themselves slept with numerous women in their youth. Thus, by emphasizing virginity and chastity as some of the hallmarks of good character, Pizan subtly throws shade at hyprocritical men who criticize women for their actions when they had done the same or even worse. Continue reading “Consider Pizan’s emphasis on virginity and chastity as some of the hallmarks of good character in her work.”

While reading Montaigne’s essays, I was really impressed by his sense of humor and the way he picks up the absurdness of human behavior. The most obvious example is his take on relativism in the essay “Of Cannibals”. As he describes the savage customs of a native South American tribe, which include killing and eating their war prisoners, Montaigne is quick to point out that while many of their behaviors strike as barbaric, they are not any more barbaric that the customs of his own nation. Appalled by the religious wars in France, where mass murder and particularly cruel torture methods and executions were employed, he rightly points out that the Europeans consider themselves more civilized only because humans tend to perceive their familiar local norms as the correct ones and not because they are truly superior. In his essay “Of the inconsistency of our actions”, the writer describes the frequent hypocrisy and inconsistency of humans who change their mind or interpret other people’s behavior as the situation suits  them at the particular moment without perceiving the contradictions. The anecdote of a promiscuous young woman who attempted suicide because of being pursued by an unwanted admirer in an apparent show of virtue is one of the many examples of this. In other essays Montaigne observes how people sometimes arbitrarily consider things good or bad, simply from custom or convenience, as, for example, saying “bless you” at a sneeze but frowning on the other two “sorts of wind”. He simply mocks his own culture and people at every angle, exposing the innate ridiculousness of humans.

I believe Montaigne’s purpose in writing was to trigger people to have self-reflections. Self-reflections cause change in people, which then leads to a change in society. Montaigne wasn’t happy with the French Renaissance era, so he wanted to bring change. His Essay was mostly about the sixteenth-century French renaissance. Based on his writing, you can tell that he wasn’t happy with what was going on in society. His writing probably made a lot of people upset because he was telling the truth in his eyes.  In the end, Montaigne’s stood up to what he believed.

Montaigne’s arguments in The Essays were mostly about social circumstances in France during his time. He looked at what was occurring in France with a negative light. He viewed it as a manipulating order that poisoned the uneducated masses. Everything that was occurring was transferred on to the people around and their decisions. To him, it all seemed like a hopeless and endless cycle. “We know by experience that women transmit marks of their fancies to the bodies of the children they carry in their womb.” He wanted to live in a free-thinking society and thought that if people applied their will, the few standout individuals had the opportunity to break free.