Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index

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Record Number: 3159 Author(s)/Creator(s): Ambrosio , Francis J. Contributor(s): Title: Feminist Self-Fashioning: Christine de Pizan and "The Treasure of the City of Ladies" Source: European Journal of Women's Studies 6, 1 (February 1999): Pages 9 - 20. Description: Article Type: Journal Article Subject (See Also): Christine de Pizan, Poet- Livre des Trois Vertus Greenblatt, Stephen, Literary Historian (1943- )- Renaissance Self-Fashioning Literature- Prose Misogyny in Literature Outsiders in Literature Self in Literature Women Authors Women in Literature Award Note: Geographic Area: France Century: 15 Primary Evidence: Illustrations: Table: Abstract: The idea of self-fashioning that Stephen Greenblatt presents in his book Renaissance Self-Fashioning can be very useful in an effort to understand Christine de Pizan's work. Specifically, a reading of the "Treasure of the City of Ladies" or "The Book of the Three Virtues" (1405) in the light of self-fashioning may help explain the book's intent. In writing "The Treasure," Christine is often criticized for what appears to be a departure from her vigorous defense of women presented in "The City of Ladies." The article argues, however, that quite the contrary is the case in the later book. Christine uses self-fashioning in "The Treasure" as a strategy of survival for herself and other women. For example, she frames an argument in which she casts the male literary establishment as well as the misogynistic texts produced by that establishment as Other. Consequently, what appears to be submission in "The Treasure" is really a textual strategy, a subversion which is aimed at giving women an identity and protecting them against the many dangers of a male-dominated world. [Reproduced by permission of Sage Publishers.] Related Resources: Author's Affiliation: Georgetown University Conference Info: - , - Year of Publication: 1999. Language: English ISSN/ISBN: 13505068

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