Comparing Pisan's and Plato's Views on the Roles of Women
It is hardly fair to make a true judgement on whose view of women was more sensible. For one reason Pisan was a women and Plato was a man. It has taken thousand of years for women to accomplish equality towards men now so Pisan's view could be seen as before her time. Although, Pisan's view seems more sensible I can see how Plato's view could also be sensible for his time and place.
In Christine De Pisan's The book of the city of ladies, in the beginning she began to examine her own character as a natural women. She looked at women who surround her form the highest a princess to the lowest a lower class woman. She tried to examine the ideas this philosopher had said to be true about women. She began to feed into the idea that it was impossible for such famous men to be wrong about the ideas of women. She came to the conclusion that the God had created a bad creature when he made a woman based upon the works of these men. She completely doubted he r own gender based on the opinions of the famous philosophers. In her story she explains how three women came to her out of pity because of her ignorance. They began to explain that just because these famous philosophers come up with the idea that women are inferior doesn't, not mean that the idea is true. They began to explain that they contradict each other so how could someone possibly rely on the information that they give. They began to further explain that there have been men that have allowed or believed in their daughters to pursue their education. In fact some of them have been so good that they have even been able to teach others. The argument form the foolish men as they called it that it displeased ...
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...eas of women they depict. Pisan's view seems to be solely on wether or not a woman is capable of competing with a man mentally. Plato's view is based on whether a woman is capable of being compared to a man physically. Both are sensible arguments. He also believes that woman are better than men in what he believes women are set out to do. Women are capable of being just as smart or even smarter than a man. But as for physical strength there are a select few that are physically capable of competing with a man. But science has proven that men are generally stronger than women. Both arguments are sensible in the areas that they represent women.
Bibliography
Class Notes
Cohen, Mitchell and Nicole Fermon.Princeton Readings in Political thought. Princeton University Press 1996.
www.plato.evansville.edu.
Christina, though also losing her feminine figure, proves to be the strength against the patriarchy. For instance, Christina tries to disguise herself by dressing like a man and running away from her husband. In doing this, she stands up for herself and for the woman that she is, saying to her conscious that is controlled by patriarchal thought, “And making herself known by raising her finger…’Why delay, fugitive? Why do you respect your feminine sex? Put on manly courage and mount the horse like a man’. At this she put aside her fears” (Petroff 146). This is not to say that Christina wishes she were a man, but rather she is saying that women should respect and believe in themselves.
The women were generally less defined than the men, but that is due to the fact that none of the women could be considered main characters, except perhaps Penelope. The woman all served a point, and were there to add to the plot or to compliment another character, like Penelope and Odysseus’s connection. Homer wrote women to help the plot along, but not be a major point or character themselves. The women are very important to the Odyssey, and the poem would not of been able to read the way it did if the women played no role. The poem illustrates women as important people, but only for the sake of a man. Homer wrote according to the greeks pyramid of social standing, where women were lower than men, but he still allowed women greater roles, and even gave them important tasks to fulfill, like Penelope and her suitors, or Helen and her elopement with Prince
Both genders in The Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh have a specific role to play. Women support and guide the men in the epic poems which also portrays them as wise beings. However, men are seen as superior to women and must show their strength and authority over others, even using women to accomplish their
In learning about the feminist movement, we studied the three articles and discussed and reviewed the different authors perspectives on the topic and learned how important the role of woman in Greek Mythology. In presenting the feminist theory to the class we analyzed the three articles, Women in Ancient Greece; Women in Antiquity: New Assessments; and Women in Greek Myth, and discussed how although the three articles provided different views on Feminism in mythology, they all essentially are aiming to teach the same basic concept.
In the story, there are many examples of women who suffer from a lack of an education. One of the Mirabal sisters, Patria, has a dream of becoming a nun, but Papa does not support her. “It started with Patria wanting to be a nun. Mamá was all for having religion in the family, but Papá did not approve in the least. More than once, he said that Patria as a nun would be a waste of a pretty girl. He only said that once in front of Mamá, but he repeated it often enough to me.” (Ch. 2 pg. 11) Papa believes that a woman cannot be more than a pretty face, that they should not pursue their interests and have an equal position in society. This describes that women were not allowed to become more than they could be. When Minerva tells her family that she aspires to become a lawyer, her mother does not take her seriously: Ay, Dios mío, spare me." Mamá sighs, but playfulness has come back into her voice. "Just what we need, skirts in the law!"(Ch. 1 Pg. 10) This shows that even Mama believes that women should not have a say in certain matters because she has a notion that women were not cut out for things like politics. Sometimes, even the women agree that they should not have equal representation as men. Mama seems to imply that it may be better for woman to preserve one’s innocence and integrity by avoiding politics. Minerva again argues that women deserve equality in their society. This is because at that time, the thought of a woman studying law was unusual. No one believed that a woman would be capable of studying law, which proved that women were not considered equal. Even though women were not given equal opportunities as men, the sisters fought for equality, and
Homer's "Odyssey" depicts women as strong subjects-they are real substantive characters. Women in this poem are tough, strong-willed and are treated with the respect and seriousness they deserve. Homer characterizes the women in his poem as the real counterparts of men-they have real feelings, real plans and are able to accomplish them on their own.
It is obvious that in both stories women were very strong and responsible, while the men were arrogant and unappreciative. Throughout the stories, Antigone and Norah both proved there worth through their actions. But the men ridiculed, underestimated, and wallowed in their own pride. It is obvious how unfairly women were treated, but gradually women have been noticed and recognized for what they do and have to offer. Over time men have recognized women’s potential as they slowly fit into our society. Through the plays of Antigone and A Dolls House these situations of women being more than expected were described in detail. Also described in detail were how men acted in pride and immaturity to shun this behavior. These books have ended in tragedy, but women are a constant testament to success in our modern day society.
...rotect their women and children.10 Plato states that much like the dogs used to hunt, if women receive “the same nurture and education” then they too would be as good as men, and should not be treated as if they are not inferior to men. “Men and women alike possess the qualities which make a guardian; they differ only in their comparative strength or weakness”, Plato is saying that although men and women are different they both have strengths and weaknesses that are required.11
Christine De Pizan’s work in The Book of The City of Ladies pioneers a new genre of feminist literature that exposes a time period from the perspective of its female population. Due to this, De Pizan justifiably earns the title of a revolutionary author. However, to say that De Pizan revolutionized the conditions of women in the medieval ages and onward is an overstatement. In her book, De Pizan critiques sexist arguments in order to defend women against misogyny. The change that De Pizan presented in medieval culture was gradual because she was attempting to amend people’s perspectives on women rather than offer any institutional rectifications. She worked to establish that women can be just as mighty as men, and thus, they are not innately inferior. However, her goal was not to ensure that women have equal access to exercise and pursue their virtuous roles. Therefore, if observed
4a. In Book V, what reasons does Plato provide for his proposal that women and men receive the same education and the responsibilities of running the city? Why does Plato recommend communal living among men and women of the guardian
The Odyssey: Portrayal of Women How does Homer portray women in the epic, The Odyssey? In order to answer this question you must look at woman and goddesses as two separate groups of people who are "people". This is because they are portrayed in two separate ways. You see, a regular woman like Penelope is looked at as beautiful but has.
Male Dominance over the female gender has been prevalent ever since the beginning of the common era and is just recently starting to change a little. Males dominated every aspect of life except in the household and tending to the children; that was the female’s jobs. One argument that will be made is that men had overall power and rule over women in what happens around them. The second argument that will be made is the significance of the females roles and the duties and hardships they had to endure throughout their lifetime. The third argument is the similarities and differences between these two genders and their roles in the myths that come out of this book. Women’s decisions in everyday can be overturned by any male at any time because
4. Judith L. Kellogg, “Le Livre de la cite des dames: Reconfiguring Knowledge and Reimagining Gendered Space” in Christine de Pizan: A Casebook edited by Barbra K. Altman and Deborah L. McGrady, New York: Routledge, 2003.
Greek and Roman women lived in a world where strict gender roles were given; where each person was judged in terms of compliance with gender-specific standards of conduct. Generally, men were placed above women in terms of independence, control and overall freedom. Whereas men lived in the world at large, active in public life and free to come and go as they willed, women's lives were sheltered. Most women were assigned the role of a homemaker, where they were anticipated to be good wives and mothers, but not much of anything else. The roles of women are thoroughly discussed in readings such as The Aeneid, Iliad, Sappho poetry, and Semonides' essay.
But due to Athena’s masculinity, she was discussed almost as an exception to this belief, but only enough to be considered a step above women and below mortal men. While Aphrodite who embraced her femininity and sexuality, was seen as one of the most inferior immortals by other immortals and thus by myth writers.