The Book of the City of Ladies Marriage Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

[She] had so lofty a heart that she did not deign to marry, nor did she desire that any man be at her side. (1.12.1)

Some women are so chaste and virtuous that they don't want to get married to any man. Here, Christine seems to celebrate women's independence. But at the end of the book, she totally goes back on this and tells women that independence isn't a good thing.

Quote #2

This maiden despised all physical love and refused to marry for a long time. (1.20.1)

It's clear that Christine de Pizan has some admiration for unmarried women. This might have something to do with the fact that Christine became a widow when she was fairly young and never got remarried.

Quote #3

For this reason, in order to escape and avoid such inconveniences, many authorities have advised wise men not to marry, affirming that no women—or very few—are loyal to their mates. (2.13.1)

Many men in Christine's time criticized marriage in general because they thought women weren't capable of being loyal to one man for their entire lives. These dudes were probably just projecting, though, because chances are that men were way more unfaithful than women during this time.