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A Study of Christine De Pizan, a Rhetor of the Late Middle Ages

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A Study of Christine De Pizan, a Rhetor of the Late Middle Ages Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Spring 5-7-2021 Feminine Discursive Authority through Symbolism, Allegory and Exemplum: A Study of Christine de Pizan, a Rhetor of the Late Middle Ages Kathleen Burk Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Part of the Rhetoric Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Burk, K. (2021). Feminine Discursive Authority through Symbolism, Allegory and Exemplum: A Study of Christine de Pizan, a Rhetor of the Late Middle Ages (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1966 This Immediate Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. FEMININE DISCURSIVE AUTHORITY THROUGH SYMBOLISM, ALLEGORY AND EXEMPLUM: A STUDY OF CHRISTINE DE PIZAN, A RHETOR OF THE LATE MIDDLE AGES A Dissertation Submitted to the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Kathleen F. Burk May 2021 Copyright by Kathleen F. Burk 2021 FEMININE DISCURSIVE AUTHORITY THROUGH SYMBOLISM, ALLEGORY AND EXEMPLUM: A STUDY OF CHRISTINE DE PIZAN AS A RHETOR OF THE LATE MIDDLE AGES By Kathleen F. Burk Approved March 19, 2021 ________________________________ ________________________________ Pat Arneson, Ph.D. Richard H. Thames, Ph.D. Professor of Communication & Rhetorical Professor of Communication & Rhetorical Studies Studies (Committee Chair) (Committee Member) ________________________________ Janie M Harden Fritz, Ph.D. Professor of Communication & Rhetorical Studies (Committee Member) ________________________________ ________________________________ Kristine L. Blair, Ph.D. Ronald C. Arnett, Ph.D. Dean, McAnulty College and Graduate Chair, Communication & Rhetorical School of Liberal Arts Studies Professor of English Professor of Communication & Rhetorical Studies Biochemistry Professor of Communication and Rhetorical Studies iii ABSTRACT FEMININE DISCURSIVE AUTHORITY THROUGH SYMBOLISM, ALLEGORY AND EXEMPLUM: A STUDY OF CHRISTINE DE PIZAN AS A RHETOR OF THE LATE MIDDLE AGES By Kathleen F. Burk May 2021 Dissertation supervised by Dr. Pat Arneson Rhetorical studies are deeply concerned with the way that human beings use language and symbols to interact and persuade others to follow a particular point of view, or plan of action. In the male dominant culture of 15th century France, Christine de Pizan recognized the limitations of speaking as a woman in her own voice. Therefore, she directed her voice through a cadre of allegorical divine beings, most of whom were women. These allegorical mentors held the divine authority to profess the virtue of women, as Christine, the narrator, humbly listened. This was a time in history when few women were entitled to a voice in society, and female practitioners of rhetoric were not considered to be credible. Rhetoric was a field of endeavor that was strictly limited to men. This dissertation addresses the question: What are the implications of iv Christine de Pizan’s use of rhetoric to defend the honor of women, advocate for their right to knowledge, and to promote the betterment of her adopted country, France? This dissertation explores the empowerment of women in the early 15th century through the rhetorical tropes of symbolism, allegory, and exemplum. For that reason, a close examination of the literary oeuvre of Christine de Pizan warrants a more prominent place in the conversation of medieval rhetoric. This is particularly true regarding Christine’s ability to engage literary symbolism as a way of circumventing a power structure that denied women a voice in that society. Because rhetoric in the Middle Ages was limited almost exclusively to men, for their own self-interest, this project argues how Christine successfully circumvented the limitations of a male patriarchal society to engage in the practice of rhetoric, not by outwardly teaching her theories, rather by focusing upon the more subtle use of tropes to project her persuasive voice to the French aristocracy, and later to exert an influence upon western intellectualism. This project gives due consideration to the power of symbolism, allegory and exemplum, and Christine’s use of these tropes to influence the course of an historical narrative. This dissertation also addresses the question of how a secular woman writer in, by today’s standards, a misogynistic era succeeded in gaining cultural authority, and it deems relevant the influence of Christine de Pizan upon the late medieval conversation as it transitioned into the humanism of the Renaissance phase of early modernity. v DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my mom, Connie. I truly believe she would have loved Christine de Pizan. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract iv Dedication vi Chapter 1: The Political and Intellectual Context of the Historical Moment 1 The Turbulent Times 4 The French Monarchy of the 15th Century 6 The Great Western Schism 10 The European Renaissance 12 Prevailing Attitudes About Women 14 Prominent Philosophical Movements in 15th Century France 18 Scholasticism 18 Renaissance Humanism 20 Dante Alighieri 26 Francesco Petrarch 28 Giovanni Boccaccio 31 Conclusion 33 Chapter 2: The Rhetorical Context of Christine’s Writing 35 Christine’s Early Life and Influences 35 Christine’s Privileged Youth in Paris 36 The Death of Etienne as Pivotal to Christine’s Rhetoric 40 Christine’s Rhetorical and Philosophical Influences 43 The Greco-Roman Tradition of Rhetoric 44 vii Rhetoric in the Early Middle Ages 46 Augustine of Hippo 48 Anicius Boethius 52 Rhetoric of the High and Late Middle Ages 54 Jean de Meun 58 Geoffrey Chaucer 59 Christine as a Defender of Womankind 60 Conclusion 66 Chapter 3: Christine’s Forms of Rhetoric 67 Christine as a Rhetorical Influence 72 Christine’s Rhetoric of Symbolism, Allegory and Exemplum 75 The Role of Symbolism in the Middle Ages 75 The Role of Allegory in the Middle Ages 76 The Role of Exemplum in the Middle Ages 83 Christine’s Forms of Supporting Rhetoric 84 Three Medieval Rhetorical Arts 84 The Rhetorical Power of Visions and Dream Visions 89 Illuminations as Rhetoric 92 The Rhetoric of Vernacular Language 95 Conclusion 97 Chapter 4: Christine as a Moral Philosopher and Pre-Feminist Rhetor 100 Gaining Cultural Authority as a Rhetor of Moral Philosophy 104 The Rhetoric of Letter from the God of Love 105 viii The Rhetoric of One Hundred Ballads of a Lover and a Lady 109 The Rhetoric of The Letter from the Goddess Othéa 110 The Rhetoric of Debate of the Rose 113 The Rhetoric of Path of the Long Study 118 The Rhetoric of The Book of the Mutation of Fortune 126 The Rhetoric of The Treasure of the City of Ladies 130 The Rhetoric of Le Cité 131 The Rhetoric of Tres Vertus 145 Interpretation of Christine’s Rhetoric 147 Conclusion 150 Chapter 5: Christine’s Range of Influence as a Pre-Feminist Rhetor 152 The Transformation of Christine’s Approach to Rhetoric 154 The Vision of Christine 155 Christine as a Rhetor of History 160 Christine as a Rhetor of Political Theory 163 The Book of the Body Politic 165 The Book of Peace 168 Christine as a Rhetor of the Biographical Narrative 169 Book of the Deeds and Good Conduct 170 The Tale of Joan of Arc 173 Summary 177 References 186 Illuminations 194 ix CHAPTER ONE The Political and Intellectual Context of the Historical Moment The notion of rhetoric as a powerful force that can change the course of history has been around since the devil persuaded Eve, who in turn lured Adam into partaking of the forbidden fruit. In its many forms, rhetoric has been studied throughout the ages, often focusing upon the dialectic components of rational discourse, as well as the emotion laden symbolism that moves human beings to act in certain ways, or to accept a particular set of beliefs or viewpoints. Hans Georg Gadamer gave credence to the notion that a “hermeneutic engine of understanding can only be created through intersubjective dialogue” (276). Gadamer did not accept the idea that correctly interpreting a text is to recover the original intentions of the author and argued that human beings have an historically affected consciousness. That is to say that every individual has a particular narrative that shapes his or her own character and lives within a culture that influences his or her view of the world. One cannot entirely understand the viewpoint of another person unless one’s experiences and cultural influences precisely mimic the worldview of the other. Having the value of hindsight can be advantageous in terms of understanding consequences, outcomes, and the evolution of attitudes. If the past is viewed through the monocle of contemporary norms and experiences, those reading in the present day would not have context of all that converged to produce the textual meaning. Viewing the past from a present-day perspective runs a great risk of erroneous assumptions. (Miley and Read). What the reader can do is to attempt to understand the other persons by meeting them half-way, by taking into consideration the larger context of all, including the historical moment, the cultural narrative, and the belief systems of that moment in history. 1 Throughout most of the Middle Ages, rhetoric was a field of endeavor that was generally not open to women, simply because women were without the cultural authority to speak with any degree of validity. Because of distance between cities, plagues and epidemics, and the need to keep an accurate record, most of rhetoric was in written form, by letters, allegories, and poetics. Female writers were rare because the craft was limited almost exclusively to men, except for those women who had joined convents or chose to engage in the solitary life of an anchoress.1 Less commonly, women were granted the authority to speak or write if they were able to convincingly relate that they had received sacred visions from higher beings of the spiritual world.
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