How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
[No] connection in the world is as great or as strong as the great love which, through the will of God, Nature places between a man and a woman. (1.8.4)
For Christine de Pizan, men and women were put on this Earth to love one another, not to criticize. For Christine, this is a simple fact of nature. Why in the world would God make men and women and then want them to hate one another?
Quote #2
This maiden despised all physical love and refused to marry for a long time. (1.20.1)
Throughout City of Ladies, Christine de Pizan includes stories of women who completely forgot about physical love because they wanted to develop their minds and their eternal souls. But the one she's talking about here finally did marry, but only at an older-than-average age.
Quote #3
[It] is believed that [Erythrea] was much beloved of God and that, after the Holy Christian women of Paradise, she ought to be honored more than any other woman. (2.2.3)
Many men (at least in Christine's time) would say that God doesn't love women as much as he loves men. But Christine de Pizan is certain that this is not true, so she cites the case of Erythrea to show a woman who was rumored to be one of God's favorite people.
Quote #4
But let me hasten to assure you that not all marriages are conducted with such spite, for there are those who live together in great peacefulness, love, and loyalty, because the partners are virtuous, considerate, and reasonable. (2.13.1)
De Pizan admits that there are many unhappy marriages in the world. But she also wants her readers to know that loving relationships are totally possible between men and women. They're only possible though if both partners are good people who have compassion for each other.
Quote #5
How many good women there are who are so conscientious in caring for their husbands, healthy or sick, with a loyal love as though their husbands were gods! (2.13.2)
De Pizan can't believe that so many men would accuse women of being selfish and unloving. She can (and does) list dozens of examples of women who care for their husbands through thick and thin, and serve them as if they were gods. And this is exactly what men of de Pizan's time wanted from their wives. Let us count the ways we're happy to not be living in the 15th century, shall we?
Quote #6
Even though this king had several concubines, as was the barbarian custom, this noble lady was nevertheless surrounded by a perfect love, so that she could not bear him to go off without her. (2.14.1)
Even when a king has all sorts of concubines and mistresses coming in and out of his bedroom, the noble lady from de Pizan's story continues to love him with total devotion. So what's up with men saying that women don't know how to love?
Quote #7
Thus she demonstrated well the great love which she had for her husband, as Boccaccio himself noted, approving the marriage bond which others want to attack. (2.15.1)
There were people in Christine de Pizan's time who criticized marriage as a concept because they thought it only led to unhappy men and nagging wives. But Christine de Pizan wants to highlight all of the cases from history where men and women were married in total happiness.
Quote #8
Artemisia's loyal love for her faithful spouse thus was clear both in her acts and in this token, a love which lasted as long as she lived. (2.16.1)
In the story of Artemisia, we find that women are capable of loving men even when they are separated for a very long time. And yes, Christine de Pizan believes that a woman can love a man for life.
Quote #9
And after the two lovers had frequently met, thanks to this sign, and spoken altogether at this crack where they made their piteous complaints, at last, overwhelmed by too much love, they plotted how they would flee from their parents secretly, by night, and meet outside the city near a spring, under a white mulberry tree. (2.57.1)
The story of Pyramus and Thisbe doesn't have a very happy ending. But the image of these two lovers speaking through a crack in a wall is super romantic because it shows how much they love one another's minds instead of their bodies. They are separated by a wall, after all, and can't see each other. D'awwwww.
Quote #10
Seeing her lover's spirit pass away, she mourned piteously and then killed herself with the same sword. (2.57.1)
Some women love their lovers so much that they can't stand the thought of living without them. So they kill themselves as a sign of their devotion. What more proof do you want to show that women are capable of deep love? It's sad, but it's uber-romantic.