Firstly I found it very interesting the movement from having
almost no women in the world of rhetoric to now having an entire piece written
by a woman and about a woman. But that is not the point of my blog, I just
thought it was cool.
It was interesting that Pizan
decided to write about a princess and make her the most virtuous woman in the
land. It seemed by having a princess as the example more women would follow
because the general role princesses played in that society. However, if Pizan
used a woman of some social standing, her message would still be communicated.
Woman of this time did not have to be Royal to be heard and respected in the
rhetorical community, even though they would get more recognition even later
on.
Reading this piece made me think of
what it meant to be a good man,
however it focuses on the female role of being good. I got this impression
from the very first paragraph, “and for this reason she, ever mindful of this
teaching, will wish to have this excellent virtue.” I felt as if this was a
general blanket statement to all women to follow what is being described as
virtues. As the passage continues different incidents are highlighted where
women should act a certain way. Something that stood out to me was section 8, “How the good and wise princess will make
every effort to restore peace between the prince and the barons if there is any
discord.” It was interesting how Pizan laid out characteristics for a
Princess that still could be applied to a woman of any class. A more general
statement came in the third paragraph of section 8, “Since the good lady will
bear these things in mind and feel pity for the destruction of the people, she
will wish to work to make peace.” Every thing that Pizan is saying here is
good, they are simple rules people, not only woman should live by.
Another part that caught my
attention was in the beginning when charity is described as not only giving
with money from your purse but with help and comfort by speech and advice. I
feel as if this could be a stretch to some elements of rhetoric and thinking
about audience when you are speaking in this manner. I also thought it was an different
way of looking at charity relative to how charity has been looked at in the
past, even though I’m not sure if I have seem charity come up in many things
that we have looked at.
I agree completely. At first I was a little concerned with her choice to portray the entire rhetoric through the characters of the highest of upper classes; it seemed so exclusive. But after further thought and your post, I believe you are right,the things she says do indeed apply to every class, and every class will look at the princess with respect and admiration.
ReplyDeleteShe does talk a good deal about making peace, and how women play a key role in this endeavor. Apart from making peace in the family or very localized community, it does seem that a lot of this may be irrelevant to people of the lower classes.
Either way, these ideas are certainly not things discussed in earlier readings. I was just thiking how nice it was to read something that actually USED rhetoric for a cause rather than just talk about it.
After reading your post, as well as some others, I think I may have to reexamine my post, as well as my thoughts on the piece.
ReplyDeleteTaking it out of context, I think that I was assuming the text was written by a man (not having reviewed the biography prior) and that made a small difference in how I viewed the text.
However, after reading through and seeing your point of view, I think I might change my opinion as to HOW the text should be interpreted. Not so much as a "be put in your place" kind of text, but rather a "how can we use our position to greater advantage" piece.
I think the idea you bring up in your second paragraph, " The Good Woman," is an extremely interesting one. The difference between the judgement on a woman is tenfold compared to a woman in Pizan's time. Thinking from the perspective of lawyer in that time. A women would be unbelievably scrutinized and examined in court. Any little thing that was could turn the case against the woman would be tirelessly investigated. So the "good woman" could in fact be more moral than the "good man." This is also why Pizans writing is so sharp and full of examples almost repetitively. She was so under the microscope because of her sex, she had to live a straight life but also had to dot every i and cross every t in her speeches. I know you are studying law so I thought of thinking about it in your shoes and that is what I came up with.
ReplyDelete