Christine's Study
Christine describes this feeling as she sits in her study and becomes disillusioned by the misogynistic texts she's reading
What is boredom?
The first of the three figures, this lady holds a mirror and encourages Christine to logically work through her doubts and misconceptions
Who is Lady Reason?
This rhetorical strategy used by Christine to argue for the importance of women in society symbolizes the power of community and the pursuit of virtue
What is the metaphor of building a city?
According to Lady Reason, this sin committed by Eve is actually the cause of Christ’s redemption of humanity, and thus should be honored.
What is the "Felix culpa" (fortunate fall)?
According to Geraldine Heng, ______ is a structural relationship between groups of people meant to manage difference
What is race?
Christine characterizes the text she's reading as this, a synonym for 'small'
What is "litel"?
This lady holds a "yardstick of truth" and acts as a defender of those who serve God
Who is Lady Rectitude?
These four women / group of women form a larger section of the foundation of Christine's city
Who are Semiramis, the Amazons, Fredegunde, and Nicaula?
Reason uses this figure, who notified the disciples of Christ's resurrection, to justify the fact that women yap
Who is Mary Magdalene?
In medieval culture, this term refers to things that are pleasing of sight, person, or object and that are of moral virtue
What is faire?
This 13th-century French poet wrote Liber lamentationum Matheoluli, in which he criticized marriage and argued that it made men's lives miserable
Who is Matheolus?
The third lady, who represents divine judgment, holds a "vessel of pure gold" and explains that everything remains stable through her
Who is Lady Justice?
Reason instructs Christine to build her city at this location
Where is the Field of Letters?
Reason says this emotion is directly related tied to the story of Jesus raising Lazarus, which is a symbol often associated with femininity
What is compassion?
This is the process of appropriating medieval culture, whether in harmful or non-violent ways
What is medievalism?
Christine does this physical action when she initially accepts that women are 'wicked' -- a feature believed to be particularly feminine during the period
What is cry?
This woman has a stern face that compels onlookers to obey
Who is Reason?
The city's site has an abundance of __________ (hint: original sin) because it is ___________ (hint: birth)
What is fruit and fertile?
This labor, which involves weaving and spinning, is described by Lady Reason as essential for serving God and symbolic of women’s contribution to society
What is spinning?
These two features were most often associated with aesthetic features of beautiful humans and beautiful objects
What are light and proportion?
Christine does this physical gesture in response to the appearance of the three ladies
What is the sign of the cross?
This figure, though not one of the three virtues, is described as the "handmaiden" of God and is evoked numerous times throughout the text
Who is Nature?
Only women who have these traits (2) are allowed into the city
What is "good reputation" and "praiseworthy"?
Reason says women are made, literally, from this -- the "finest material that had yet been invented by God"
What is "coarse matter" OR "the body of man himself?"
The eagle associated with this Black figure is often co-opted by White nationalists for the purpose of purporting racial purity
Who is Saint Maurice?