University of Texas Rio Grande Valley ScholarWorks @ UTRGV UTB/UTPA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Legacy Institution Collections 5-2014 The feminization of the literary voice and the rhetorical tradition in The Lais of Marie de France, The Mirror of Simple Souls, and The Book of the City of Ladies Elisa B. Filippone The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/leg_etd Part of the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, French and Francophone Language and Literature Commons, and the Women's History Commons Recommended Citation Filippone, Elisa B., "The feminization of the literary voice and the rhetorical tradition in The Lais of Marie de France, The Mirror of Simple Souls, and The Book of the City of Ladies" (2014). UTB/UTPA Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 19. https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/leg_etd/19 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Legacy Institution Collections at ScholarWorks @ UTRGV. It has been accepted for inclusion in UTB/UTPA Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ UTRGV. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. The Feminization of the Literary Voice and the Rhetorical Tradition in The Lais of Marie de France, The Mirror of Simple Souls, and The Book of the City of Ladies A Thesis presented to the Graduate Faculty of the English Department at the University of Texas in Brownsville In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for a Master’s Degree in English By B. Elisa Filippone May 2, 2014 For Esteban, Juan Pablo, Emilia, and Berta Elisa. Acknowledgments This thesis was born from my desire to read more and look for the feminine voice—even the one attributed to women by men. True to the motivation that originated this three-year project— simply wanting to learn—I have found more satisfaction in the search than in the accomplishment. The preparatory research for this thesis was extensive, and the topic took form as I discovered texts and the authors’ stories. I am fortunate to have a strong committee: Dr. Diana Dominguez, an authority in Medieval literature, and Dr. James Frost and Dr. Lyon Rathbun, among some of the most capable experts and educators in Rhetorical Theory. In addition, Dr. Bobbette Morgan, a champion of education, served as the Graduate Faculty Representative given that my thesis proposes an option for further study in this discipline. When I came to the university with a twenty-two year-old degree in business from UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico), having been out of the work force for a little less than that, and the simple but genuine ambition to learn, Dr. Dominguez believed in the essence of my drive. She guided me through the process of admissions and recommended me to Dr. James Frost to work as a graduate assistant when I expressed my intention of having an unabridged educational experience. Dr. Frost gave me the opportunity to learn beyond the classroom by placing me under the supervision of Dr. John Foreman, Dr. Therese Gallegos, and Ms. Ela Newman, who showed me their solid commitment to education, their irreproachable work ethic, and their passion for English. I want to express my gratitude to two dear friends: Dr. Ruth Keitz for encouraging me to turn an interest in art classes into an education in English—to the extent of finding the program for me— and Dr. Jennifer Cahn for redirecting the entire project, for her tutorials in writing style and language, and for fostering in me a drive to continuously raise the standards of my schoolwork. I want to thank my children for being my fuel and my mother for being my safe-place in this effort. iv Filippone, B. Elisa. “The Feminization of the Literary Voice and the Rhetorical Tradition in The Lais of Marie de France, The Mirror of Simple Souls, and The Book of the City of Ladies.” Unpublished Master of Arts Thesis, University of Texas at Brownsville, 2014. Abstract This study demonstrates how The Lais of Marie de France (12th c.) by Marie de France, The Mirror of Simple Souls (14th c.) by Marguerite Porete, and Christine de Pizan’s The Book of City of Ladies (15th c.) serve as the three progressive steps in the transformation of the rhetorical theory and the feminine literary voice, redefining woman from the idea of inferior entity written by men over centuries into the concept of an intellectual and virtuous female human being. The development of a strong feminine literary voice starts as de France feminizes the masculine language she borrows from masculine oral tradition to write narrative poetry, enriched with a feminine perspective. A century later, Porete assumes solely feminine language—through the voice of a female soul that she makes available to the male soul—in a theological treatise that annuls the role of the Church to attain spiritual purity during this life. Subsequently, Pizan, in the fifteenth century, writes the first directly-stated defense for womankind, applying feminist literary criticism to important paternalistic texts, assuming an exclusively feminine voice, and providing a reinterpretation of history and mythology. The first chapter of this thesis discusses the historical development of the concept of woman written by men, including a brief account of Sappho’s literary merit as the last of a group of women who produced literature before the fifth century B.C.E. The next three chapters are dedicated to each of the three texts, and the final chapter explains the link between the texts, the relevance of knowing and remembering the talent and effort necessary to redefine woman in a literary world still dominated by men, and proposes options for further study in literature, psychology of education, and literary historiography. v Table of Contents PREFACE ....................................................................................................................................... x Introduction ................................................................................................................................. x The Argument ............................................................................................................................. x Methodology .............................................................................................................................. xi Selection of the Texts ................................................................................................................ xii Literature Review ...................................................................................................................... xii Chapter Organization ................................................................................................................ xv I. The Written Definition of Woman ............................................................................................ 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1 Sappho’s Poetry in the 6th Century B.C.E. .................................................................................. 2 Greek Classical Literature and Scripture .................................................................................... 3 Women According to Socrates .................................................................................................... 4 Women without Identities ........................................................................................................... 5 Aristotle’s Legacy to Women ..................................................................................................... 6 Substandard Medical Care .......................................................................................................... 7 No Maternal Rights ..................................................................................................................... 9 The Virginity of Mary ................................................................................................................. 9 Inferior and Wicked Women ..................................................................................................... 10 The Definition of Sexual Crimes .............................................................................................. 11 Contradictions and Confusion in Scripture ............................................................................... 12 Reduced Legal Protection ......................................................................................................... 14 Solidifying the Notion of Women’s Inferiority ......................................................................... 14 Chastity and Literacy ................................................................................................................ 16 The Dichotomy of Love and Conquest ..................................................................................... 17 Sex is Sinful .............................................................................................................................. 18 Better Times in the Twelfth Century ......................................................................................... 19 The Relevance of the Three Texts ............................................................................................. 20 II. The Feminization of Masculine Stories into Lais .................................................................