"Sensible ou raisonnée"

We have already discussed the idea of Sense and Sensibility with Marguerite de Navarre and Mme de Sévigné. Let us now apply this same idea to Mme de Lafayette? Is Mme de Lafayette “sensible” or is she “raisonnée”?

"Raisonnable" or "Sensible"

After reading the first set of letters by Madame de Sévigné, please discuss the following:

In your opinion, which of our two most recent authoresses (Marguerite de Navarre and Madame de Sévigné) is more "Raisonnable" and which is more "Sensible"?

Reflections on Marguerite de Navarre's Tales of the Heptameron

In the last paragraph of her article “L’Infidélité féminine dans l’Heptaméron”, Madeleine Lazard states that “l’affrontement des sexes tourne habituellement au désavantage de la femme”. Throughout her essay, she provides several accounts of infidelity on the part of the woman, while at the same time stating that indiscretions on the part of the man are met without consequence. It is her thesis that the Heptaméron is full of improprieties of women which causes the events in the story to turn towards the betterment of the man, leaving the woman coming up short in the end. Based on your reading, what do you think of Lazard's statement?

Louise Labé

As I have already mentioned, Louise Labé is reknowned for the sensuous nature of her poetry. In your opinion, what makes her poetry so sensuous?

Importance of Awareness of Authorship

On the Discussion Questions that I distributed today, I ask you to think about the following question: "Is Christine de Pisan aware of the importance of her authorship? How?"

In your opinion, what is the importance of an author recognizing his/her contribution and/or responsibility to writing in general?

Love and Marriage...Go together like a horse and carriage?

After reading the .pdf texts by Christine de Pisan that I sent today, post here your comments on the following:

In the writing of Christine de Pisan, do love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage? What are the sweetnesses of marriage of which she writes?

Christine de Pisan - A Feminist Writer?

Some scholars have called Christine de Pisan one of the first feminist writers?

What, in your opinion, defines a feminist writer?