Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2007 Exceptions to the Rule of Gender: Ambition, Writing, and Subjectivity in Christine de Pizan, Jeanne d'Albret and Marie-Catherine Desjardins de Villedieu Lori Anne Knox Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the French and Francophone Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Knox, Lori Anne, "Exceptions to the Rule of Gender: Ambition, Writing, and Subjectivity in Christine de Pizan, Jeanne d'Albret and Marie-Catherine Desjardins de Villedieu" (2007). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 3747. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/3747 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE OF GENDER: AMBITION, WRITING, AND SUBJECTIVITY IN CHRISTINE DE PIZAN, JEANNE D’ALBRET AND MARIE-CATHERINE DESJARDINS DE VILLEDIEU A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of French Studies by Lori A. Knox B.A. Centenary College of Louisiana 1998 B.S. Centenary College of Louisiana 1998 M.A. Louisiana State University 2002 December 2007 Copyright 2007 Lori Anne Knox All rights reserved ii For Barbara iii Acknowledgements At the beginning of a dissertation about extraordinary women, I would like to express my gratitude to the two most amazing women I know: Barbara Haynes and Linette Knox. Without your strength and loving support, this dissertation never would have been. To my dissertation director, Dr. Katharine Ann Jensen, no words can express my gratitude. You guided me through the most ambitious project of my life, while ensuring that I met success. You opened my eyes to a French literary world peopled by women—a luminous place that I never knew existed. Since the first day in your seminar, my experience of literature has never been the same. A special thanks also goes to members of my committee. I am grateful to Dr. Jack Yeager who taught me how to engage in research with a critical eye. Dr. Greg Stone introduced me to the fascinating world of medieval and Renaissance literature. Dr. Rosemary Peters, though a newcomer to LSU, agreed so graciously to participate in the final stages of my work. My time in the LSU French Studies Department has been a rare gift, and I appreciate everyone who has helped me along the way, especially Dr. Sylvie Dubois and Connie Simpson. My research for this project was facilitated by the wonderful librarians at Troy H. Middleton Library and Hill Memorial Library. A very special thanks goes to LSU’s Interlibrary Loan staff who went out of their way to acquire rare copies of Christine de Pizan’s and Marie- Catherine Desjardins de Villedieu’s works. Additionally, I would like to thank the library staff at the Université de Poitiers. Last but not least, I would like to express my gratitude to my family and friends, especially to Charles Knox and Larry Haynes for showing me new paths when I felt all avenues were exhausted. Also to Stephanie Coker and Candace Gibson—Stephanie, we have made this iv long journey together, and you are simply the best. Candace, you are and always will be my rock. A final thanks goes to Oana Cîmpean for believing in and supporting my ideas. v Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...........................................................................................................v ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................viii CHAPTER ONE: EXCEPTIONAL WOMEN OF THE ANCIEN REGIME : WRITING FOR THE PUBLIC AND CLAIMING SUBJECTIVITY ...................................................................... 1 Christine de Pizan ....................................................................................................................... 8 Jeanne d’Albret ........................................................................................................................... 9 Marie-Catherine Desjardins, Madame de Villedieu ................................................................. 11 Historical Perspectives of the ancien régime Exceptional Woman Writer............................... 12 The Social Experience of Pizan, Albret, and Villedieu ............................................................ 13 Writing Across the Centuries.................................................................................................... 18 CHAPTER TWO: PATERNAL VISIONS, MATERNAL AMBITIONS: CHRISTINE DE PIZAN’S INSTRUCTIVE WRITINGS FOR MEN..................................................................... 22 Christine’s Paternal Model of Family Life ............................................................................... 26 Enseignemens moraux ............................................................................................................. 29 Christine’s Paternal Model of Public Life ................................................................................ 37 Epistre Othea ............................................................................................................................ 39 Christine and the Querelle des femmes ..................................................................................... 54 Christine’s Maternal Model ...................................................................................................... 61 Le livre du corps de policie ....................................................................................................... 69 CHAPTER THREE: DAUGHTERS, WIVES, MOTHERS AND MONARCHY: JEANNE D’ALBRET’S EVOLUTION FROM “ADOLESCENT PAWN” TO AUTONOMOUS QUEEN......................................................................................................................................... 81 Jeanne d’Albret and Her Critics................................................................................................ 81 Protesting Marriage................................................................................................................... 86 The Poetic Mirror of mère et fille ............................................................................................. 90 The Protestant French Queen.................................................................................................. 117 Mothering a “Subject”—Queen Jeanne d’Albret and Madame de Langey............................ 120 Les mémoires de Jeanne d’Albret ........................................................................................... 125 Of Mothers and Monarchy...................................................................................................... 129 The Epistolary Queen Mother................................................................................................. 135 CHAPTER FOUR: PIÈCES JUSTIFICATIVES: RECONSTRUCTING IDENTITY IN THE WORKS OF MARIE-CATHERINE DESJARDINS DE VILLEDIEU.................................... 142 Portrait galant ........................................................................................................................ 148 Anaxandre ............................................................................................................................... 154 Mémoires de la vie d’Henriette Sylvie de Molière .................................................................. 169 Villedieu’s Choice .................................................................................................................. 188 Les désordres de l’amour ........................................................................................................ 193 vi CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION: AMBITIOUS WOMEN, EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES, AND CHOICE ........................................................................................ 197 WORKS CITED ......................................................................................................................... 206 VITA........................................................................................................................................... 212 vii Abstract Critics often focus on how ambitious French women who were “exceptions to the rule of gender” disrupted egalitarian political structures that appeared after 1789. Geneviève Fraisse, for instance, theorizes that exceptional women in egalitarian systems such as democracies/republics pose a threat to patriarchal social order. In theory, all women in political circumstances such as these have the “right” to imitate the exceptional woman. The fear in “egalitarian” patriarchal societies is that all women might emulate the ambitious women who aspire to cultural echelons usually reserved for men. In a hierarchical regime, such as the ancien régime , exceptions are a normal, and at times celebrated, part of society. However, this does not imply that ancien régime women did not face adversity like ambitious women who appeared later in history. Indeed, the significance of the exceptional ancien régime woman has been largely ignored. My analysis fills this void by examining