City of Ladies

In Book of the City of Ladies, the medieval writer Christine de Pizan constructs an allegorical city populated by remarkable women of historical note. I have yet to read this book, but I have been captivated by the idea of a city of ladies.




Back in the fall, I was pondering about what books to suggest for our 2008 book group selections. I had started reading Laurel Thatcher Ulrich's Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History, which uses de Pizan and her City of Ladies as a foundational theme and text.

Soon afterwards, I had a phone conversation with a good friend whom I had not spoken to in a long while. We ended up talking for at least 2 hours about a number of topics, including the empowerment I have found in writing and her frustration over her inability to write. She commented that out of all the "mommy friends" she has, she hadn't had such an intimate and emotionally-open conversation in a long time. We both greatly enjoyed the talk.

As I was drifting off to sleep that night, with my mind still whirling from our conversation, I had a quasi-dream or a picture in my head. I was surrounded by women. Closest to me were strong, empowered, intelligent women who are dear friends of mine, whom I can share all of my concerns, frustrations, and thoughts about what it means to be a woman, about motherhood and life, and about hundreds of other idea-rich topics. Further away from me were other strong women from history. I distinctly remember that Elizabeth Cady Stanton was in the group, quite a ways from me, but part of the press of women surrounding me. I had also been reading about her in Ulrich's book. As I drifted off to sleep, I felt so safe and sheltered and so grateful to be among such amazing women who have enriched and blessed my life. It was a wonderful image to fall asleep with.

I have recently read Ulrich's book in its entirety and her discussion of the City of Ladies brought back this memory.