In the story, The Book of the City of the Ladies, we see a different world through the narration. She is lead to create an entire city by three women who represent Justice, Rectitude, and Reason. This city that is established protects women from the rude comments and actions of male counterparts. Christine goes through each level and learns all different tools that aid in her learning her worth. The worth is so important and shows that she should always be valued as a woman. A few questions..
- Should she have listened and built the city? Or left well enough alone?
- Is there more to the levels than what she accomplishes?
- Should we see more of what happens after she completes the city?
1. Leaving well enough alone is no different than agreeing with what the offender is saying. Obviously, the incorrect views of her male counterparts needed to be corrected and still does. I feel she would have been insulting herself, as well as the women who came before her, if she had chose to leave well enough alone.
ReplyDelete2. When dealing with equality and justice, there will always be more to accomplish. It is the nature of things. This is due largely to our ever changing definitions of what justice and equality are. On top of this, society is constantly evolving and so are we. So, yes, there are higher levels to her dream, and it is a dream we should all strive to follow.
3. Well, considering it is a fictional story, that should be up to the author (although I highly doubt we will be seeing any original works from her any time soon.)
3. Im sure we do see more of what happens when the city is built, but it is just with the rest of the book. If you'll remember the book Professor Luthin had it was rather girthy in size, and im sure it accounts for that.
ReplyDeleteQuite right, Orion. And I thank you for that word, "girthy"...
DeleteWhen you said that Christine is learning her worth through this experience, I think that is one of the most important parts and the reason that she should listen and build the city like they tell her to. She sets up the story well, describing her own thought process before the three ladies arrive. She is at a place that is rather self-degrading, where she thinks that women were made poorly does not desire to be one. Catherine needs to hear what the three women have come to say. She needs guidance desperately to set her thinking straight. For this reason, she definitely should listen and build the city. This is something she is dealing with personally, so when the advice and command to act comes, she has to do it! It is meant to help her and others like her. If she were to sit back and not do anything, it would negate her confused feelings from the beginning. For if she truly is struggling to understand her identity, she will receive assistance gladly and with a willingness to respond (I would hope!).
ReplyDeleteI would love to see what happens after she builds this city. I would love to hear from all the women who live there personally, and hear what they have to teach Christine about feminism and unlearning the rhetoric of female self-hatred. I would have liked to see Christine bring other women she knows into the city, and get to see the reaction to this city (and, by extension, the notion that women are people) from the eyes of Christine's friends.
ReplyDeleteI think she got a lot of grateful feedback from her book, especially but not exclusively from women. Plus, I'm sure, the usual death threats from medieval incels...
DeleteYou pose good questions. I think she should listen and build the city; largely for the same reasons Alice stated. As for your second question, I think that there will always be more to achieve. No matter where your goals lie, once you accomplish said goal, there will always be another one to tackle. Lastly, I wouldn't mind seeing what happened after she built the city. I am always interested in follow ups, though it wouldn't have near the same feel as the original. It still would be interesting, though.
ReplyDeleteHer building the city gives her purpose and a way to help women who seek refuge. Which I feel she gladly wants to do without hesitation. There will always be more to accomplish. Other wise, there would be peace everywhere and thus this story would not exist. I myself would like to see more of what happens after she completes the city. I like to see how things pan out for her and the city she built.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you chose this work to write about, Hanna. It's quite remarkable, and not JUST for its time...
ReplyDeleteI agree with Alice that she makes the right decision to build the city. It is difficult to make such a bold and drastic change on one's own. As many say, it is about the trip, not the destination. The fact that she had the courage and passion to build the city speaks volumes of her character and the power of women, regardless of what happens when the city is complete.
ReplyDelete1: I strongly believe she should have built the city because that's what she was told. 2: I believe there are more levels to what she accomplished because sometimes you don't always see all the things you truley gain from when you accomplish something important. 3: I think it would be cool to see what happens afterwards.
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