A 15th-century widow built an allegorical city to answer misogynist literature

After reading yet another tract arguing women were inherently wicked, Christine de Pizan — a widowed court writer supporting three children by her pen — wrote The Book of the City of Ladies in 1405. In it, personified Reason, Rectitude and Justice help her build a symbolic city populated by virtuous, capable women from history, directly rebutting centuries of misogynist writing.

— Christine de Pizan, The Book of the City of Ladies — Completed 1405
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