The Book of the City of Ladies (1405) - Christine de Pizan Audiobook

Written by Christine de Pizan
Read by Georgina Sutton
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks
Release date: May 1, 2020
Duration: 11:18:08

Translated by Rosalind Brown-Gran

Shocked and distressed by a male writer’s vilification of women, Christine de Pizan has a powerful dreamlike vision in which she is visited by three personified Virtues: Reason, Rectitude and Justice. They tell her she has been chosen to write a book which will be like a city, housing virtuous women and protecting them from feminist attack. Heroines past and present form the foundations of this city - biblical and mythical heroines, ruling queens, Christian saints, and inventors are among them. Partly myth, partly fact, The Book of the City of Ladies is an extraordinary, pioneering and impassioned defense of women that set out to shatter medieval misogynist clichés, and serve to instill self-worth in its female readers of the time.

In dialogues with three celestial ladies, Reason, Rectitude, and Justice, Christine de Pizan (1365-ca. 1429) builds an allegorical fortified city for women using examples of the important contributions women have made to Western Civilization and arguments that prove their intellectual and moral equality to men

This translation, as well as Georgina Sutton’s energetic and crisp performance of it, really illuminated the modernity of this 15th century text for me, which include tackling the popular misogynist ideas of the time period in which they were written. Each chapter is a profile of a woman (mythical or real) who illustrates a particular strength (virtue, courage, etc) that serves not only as a foundational brick in building the mythical City of Ladies, but as a counterpoint to the anti-woman bias that pervaded medieval philosophy and culture. It cannot be held to the standard of 21st century feminism standards, but for its 15th century time, it is a radical work. It should be taught in schools!

The book is in three parts. Each part is divided into small biographies, some only a minute long. The third and shortest section (Justice) martyred saints…described in detail. The last hour is the translator’s note.

An ebook is included.