The Book of the City of Ladies
During the renaissance many different views of leadership surfaced.
Christine de Pizan’s The Book of the City of Ladies, Niccolo
Machiavelli’s The Prince, and William Shakespeare’s Richard III each
present distinct views of what would make a good leader during the
renaissance period. Shakespeare and Christine de Pizan’s views align
most closely with Plato’s. Christine de Pizan’s view also aligns with
Augustine’s medieval view of leadership. Machiavelli’s view, however,
strays the farthest from Plato and Augustine.
In The Book of the City of Ladies, Christine presents an allegorical
city made up of great ladies from history. Allegorical characters
Reason, Rectitude, and Justice guide Christine to the proper view of
women by dispelling slanderous lies spread by men throughout history.
As the leaders in Christine’s journey, Reason, Rectitude, and Justice
represent characteristics that leaders should hold. Christine
establishes Reason as the foundation of great leadership by saying
through Reason, “I was commissioned, in the course of our common
deliberation, to supply you with durable and pure mortar to lay the
sturdy foundations and to raise the large walls” (12). Rectitude
represents the benevolence leadership requires as she says, “I often
visit the just and exhort them to do what is right, to give to each
person what is his according to his capacity, to say and uphold the
truth, to defend the rights of the poor and the innocent, not to hurt
anyone through usurpation, to uphold the reputation of those unjustly
accused” (12). Finally, Justice presents in the terminating qualities
of truth and pure honor as she says, “I teach men and women of sound
mind who want to belie...
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...his work is completely opposite the ideal Augustine
leader.
Christine de Pizan, Niccollo Machiavelli, and William Shakespeare show
several different forms of Renaissance leadership. Each writer
expresses their version of leadership by giving examples of what a
leader should and should not be. Shakespeare and Christine de Pizan’s
leaders most closely fit the Platonic ideal of leadership by ruling
through wisdom, being reluctant to lead, and promoting the idea of
true virtues over shadows of virtue. The Augustine leadership ideal,
characterized by a love for God and people, most closely resembles
Christine de Pizan’s view as many of her leaders strive to please God
in their leadership. Machiavelli’s radical idea of leadership
resembles neither Plato nor Augustine as it promotes seeking power
through less than virtuous methods for less than noble reasons.
turn the light of truth upon,”10 which is something she truly fought for and succeeded
In Chrétien de Troyes' Ywain, women represent the moral virtue and arch of all mid-evil civilization. Women of this time had to be an object of love, which meant they had to have beauty, goodness, and be truthful. They had to be a representative of all chivalrous ideals. They also act as civilizing influences throughout the story. Women are put in the story to give men a reason for acting brave and noble. Men become knights in order to demonstrate to women that they are strong and capable of defending themselves against danger. This, they hope, will win the women's heart.
As people age they will often still recall a good childhood story. A well told, meaningful story can go a long way when attempting to argue a point or convey information. In the essays, ''The Myth of The Latin Women: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria" by Judith Ortiz Cofer, "Gains and Losses" by Richard Rodriquez, and "Piecing It All Together" by bell hooks, the authors connect to the reader and create a better audience through their writing. Through the portrayal of a story the authors help the reader understand their point of view, they transfer information to the reader with better ease, and keep the reader engaged the authors argue a point or convey information more efficiently.
Dickens has a complex, multifaceted view on masculinity. In the book, he creates many male characters with differing personality traits who each serve different roles. Doctor Manette is a character who embodies strength. After being imprisoned for nearly 20 years in the Bastille, Doctor Manette’s mind was severely damaged. Once he’s released, he does manage to recover his former self with the help of his family and friends. Though on multiple occasions, Doctor Manette experiences intense stress. This causes him to relapse into a disturbed state. Despite these setbacks, Doctor Manette is always able to find himself again. This makes him arguably the strongest male character in the book.
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Cassandra Clare, author of the best-selling novel City of Bones, once wrote, “To love is to destroy, and to be loved is to be the one destroyed”. As an author of a series of young adult books, Clare wishes to send a message to adolescent readers regarding the destruction that young, passionate love can lead to. A similar theme is explored in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, where two adolescents from feuding families fall in love with one another. When they first see each other on the night of the Capulet party, they quickly fall in love and are soon married by Romeo’s friend and mentor, Friar Lawrence. Their love, being full of passion in its quick course, faces many trials such as Romeo’s banishment from their hometown of Verona, as well as Juliet being forced to marry Paris, kinsman of the Prince. The affection they feel for one another, being all consuming, often leads them to want to sacrifice everything for each other, including their own lives. Their self-destructive, rushed love ends with their deaths, occurring just a multiple days after they first met. In William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, many characters such as Friar Lawrence, Romeo, and Juliet illustrate that young, passionate love is a powerful force that leads to destruction.
Anna Julia Cooper’s, Womanhood a Vital Element in the Regeneration and Progress, an excerpt from A Voice from the South, discusses the state of race and gender in America with an emphasis on African American women of the south. She contributes a number of things to the destitute state African American woman became accustom to and believe education and elevation of the black woman would change not only the state of the African American community but the nation as well. Cooper’s analysis is based around three concepts, the merging of the Barbaric with Christianity, the Feudal system, and the regeneration of the black woman.
A lady is an object, one which men attempt to dominate. A man craves to get a hold of this being beneath his command, and forever have her at his disposal. In her piece “Size Six: The Western Women’s Harem,” published in 2002, Fatema Mernissi illustrates how Eastern and Western women are subjugated by the control of men. Mernissi argues that though she may have derived from a society where a woman has to cover her face, a Western woman has to face daily atrocities far worse then ones an Eastern woman will encounter. Moreover, Mernissi’s core dogma in “Size 6: The Western Women's Harem” is that Western women are not more fortunate than women raised into harems in other societies. Additionally, she asserts that though women in the Western world are given liberties, they coincide with the unattainable ideals of what is aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, to strengthen her argument towards her wavering audience, Mernissi’s main approach in her paper is to get the reader to relate with her issue by means of an emotional appeal, while also utilizing both the ethical and logical appeal to support her thesis.
Les Femmes Savantes The Learned Ladies is an astounding play. As each new character enters time transforms characters are bedazzled, enchanted and wigged we know we are sharing the stage with royalty. The women’s gowns are extremely detailed with hoop shirts to make them puffy the men are wearing exceptionally detailed waistcoats. This comical drama is set in the living room or “salon” of the family. This plays plot is focused on one major couples chaotic and forbidden love. The characters are joined by blood and lead by the controlling wife, Philamonte (Maya Jackson) and her weak spouse Chrysale (Edward Brown III). Jackson’s voice is directing with a profound tone that would have the capacity to stop anybody dead in their tracks. It is not
In her essay, Woman in the Nineteenth Century, Margaret Fuller discusses the state of marriage in America during the 1800‘s. She is a victim of her own knowledge, and is literally considered ugly because of her wisdom. She feels that if certain stereotypes can be broken down, women can have the respect of men intellectually, physically, and emotionally. She explains why some of the inequalities exist in marriages around her. Fuller feels that once women are accepted as equals, men and women will be able achieve a true love not yet known to the people of the world.
The idea of "The Cult of True Womanhood," or "the cult of domesticity," sought to proclaim that womanly virtue resided in piety, purity, submissiveness and domesticity. The Cult of True Womanhood article describes a true woman to be judged by her husband, her neighbors, and society. With that being said after reading the article I gained a new understand of why these characteristics (piety, purity, submissiveness and domesticity) it was so important to promoting a woman’s "proper role," and how such statements about the roles of women might have served as a response to the growth of industrial capitalism. Both Truth and Stewart were very passionate about equal rights for men and women.
In her commencement speech she mentions four factors of knowledge that she believes are mandatory for women to remedy. Her idea of a true or good woman is a strong woman who knows what she wants from life, is out to succeed, and will survive. An untrue or bad woman is a lady that is weak, that has a tendency to get run over, and has no real ambition for what she wants to do with her life.
To me, honor means that you have dignity, personal courage, and integrity in everything you do. Marie Curie had this. First of all, Marie Curie grew up with tragedy. At the age of eight, her mother died, and only two years later her sister died. She pushed through and persevered. She was the top student of her secondary school, and she strived for a higher education, but it was the late 1800s and women were not allowed to go collage. So in her free time she studied about physics, math, and chemistry. So in a time where women didn't have many open doors, she got a sledgehammer and made a door for herself and became successful. Just three years after the Curies won the Nobel Prize for Physics, tragedy struck again. Pierre Curie was killed in an accident. Instead of shutting down, she pushed herself harder and her determination led to a second Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1911. Then during WW1, she devoted herself to the cause. She saved countless lives by creating portable X-ray machines that were used on the front lines of battle. Marie Curie definitely meets my standard of
give I to the poor. Then come and follow me." In the light of this,
Imagine you were given the chance to see how the other sex lives and their everyday complications. You could become a women and go through what a typical woman goes through including relationships and daily interactions through her mindset, or you could become a man for a day and see how much less complicated it would be to have their mindset where you experience life’s quandaries through their eyes. Would you take that chance? In the book the Tale of Two Cities, it shows many different ways that women are more complicated than men are in their everyday life.