The Book of the City of Ladies Book 2, Chapters 61-65 Summary

  • Lady Rectitude says that she wants to finish her spiel to Christine by offering some final examples of women who became famous out of pure coincidence instead of their own goodness. It's not quite clear why this would support her case for women's goodness in general, but oh well. Lady Rectitude seems like she's on a roll.
  • What follows is a list of women from history who were either 1) very beautiful, or 2) married to a blood relative. Uh, okay. Thanks for that, Lady Rectitude.
  • Christine decides to interrupt this strange speech by asking whether it's true that women use makeup and pretty clothing to attract the gazes of men. Rectitude answers that in some cases, this is true. But that doesn't mean that all women have huge egos.
  • Besides, there are just as many women in the world who are loved for their virtue as there are women who are loved for their prettiness. Rectitude gives some classic examples to help make this point.