She questioned what he wrote, as well as other writers (Ovid, for example), which made me realize that not everyone was completely unenlightened back in the Middle Ages after all. Christine de Pizan wrote this book in the 15th century, and calls Boccaccio out a few times, which made me cheer a bit. I also remember thinking that was not unusual considering the fact it was written in the 14th century, and those people were really unenlightened when it came to women's rights and stuff.īut then I read this book.

While I found it a worthwhile experience, I remember thinking that the women were not portrayed in a very kind light all the time in his stories. Certain scholars have argued that she should be seen as an early feminist who efficiently used language to convey that women could play an important role within society, although this characterisation has been challenged by other critics who claim either that it is an anachronistic use of the word, or that her beliefs were not progressive enough to merit such a designationĪbout six years ago I read Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron. In recent decades, de Pizan's work has been returned to prominence by the efforts of scholars such as Charity Cannon Willard and Earl Jeffrey Richards. Her success stems from a wide range of innovative writing and rhetorical techniques that critically challenged renowned male writers such as Jean de Meun who, to Pizan’s dismay, incorporated misogynist beliefs within their literary works.

She earned her accolade as Europe’s first professional woman writer (Redfern 74). De Pizan completed forty-one pieces during her thirty-year career (1399–1429). Christine de Pizan (also seen as de Pisan) (1363–c.1434) was a writer and analyst of the medieval era who strongly challenged misogyny and stereotypes that were prevalent in the male-dominated realm of the arts.

The city of ladies christine de pizan