The Book of the City of Ladies Book 2, Chapter 31-35 Summary

  • As you can imagine by this point, Lady Rectitude fills the coming pages with more examples of women who have benefitted the world.
  • One woman named Judith even saved the Jewish people from an evil king. She saved them by agreeing to sleep with the leader of the enemy, but then sneaked into his tent and cut his head off.
  • And let's not forget Esther, who helped save the Jewish people from being massacred by her husband. Although to be fair, it's hard to hold every one of Lady Rectitude's stories in our heads, considering how many she's been telling.
  • Have you ever heard of the Sabines? Well Lady Rectitude sure has. These women were kidnapped from their fathers by a bunch of men from a rival kingdom who wanted wives. Their fathers got so mad that they decided to attack. But these women were so loyal to their fathers and new husbands that they leapt between the two armies and forced them to agree to peace.
  • We then get to hear the story of Veturia, who convinced her son Coriolanus not to destroy Rome. If you want to know more about this story, be sure to check out Shakespeare's Coriolanus.