- Christine de Pizan says that she was just sitting around one day in her library and learning all kinds of cool stuff when she decided to pick up a small book by a guy named Mathéolus. She was disgusted to find that this book was just one long rant about all the different ways that women are horrible.
- And yes, the author Mathéolus is talking about all women.
- The book bothers Christine a lot, since she finds that the entire thing is packed with lies and stereotypes about women. Instead of getting mad though, she wonders why so many men over the centuries would criticize women so much.
- At first, she gives Mathéolus the benefit of the doubt, thinking that there is no way so many wise men could be wrong about women. In every book she takes down from her library shelves, she finds some sort of criticism like this. Eventually, she has no choice but to decide that God created all women as weak and horrible creatures.
- And that's the end.
- Just kidding. As you can tell from holding the book, you know that Pizan has a lot more to say on this subject.
- Finally, Pizan decides that she has been cursed by God in being born a woman instead of a man. Don't worry, though. She's building to something…
- As she sits and cries about how horrible it is to be a woman, Christine sees a ray of light falling on her lap. She looks up and sees three magical ladies appear in front of her. She's not sure how they got in the room, since the doors and windows are all shut.
- The first of the three women tells Christine not to be afraid. The three women have come to help her overcome her ignorance about the goodness of women. She doesn't need to believe what all the male philosophers say because these men often disagree with one another on pretty major things. So it's not like their opinions are the be-all and end-all.
- The first of the three magical ladies floats up to Christine and holds a mirror up to her. She claims that Christine has been unable to see herself for who she truly is because she's spent so long listening to what men have said about her as a woman.
- This first woman eventually cuts to the chase and tells Christine that it is her (Christine's) destiny to construct a City in which all of the world's best ladies can live together without having to listen to men's lies about how horrible they all are.
- The first of the three magical women tells Christine that her new city will be called the City of Ladies. Then she tells Christine where to get the materials necessary for building the city. She even compares the founding of this city to the founding of the ancient city of Troy.
- The first magical lady also talks about the world of the Amazons, a society made entirely of women warriors that used to exist according to Greek myth. This society gives a classic example of what Pizan is trying to build.
- Before the chapter ends, the magical lady identifies herself as "Lady Reason." In other words, she embodies all the great powers of human logic and reason, which exist just as much in women as they do in men.
- After Lady Reason has finished her opening speech, the second of the three ladies steps forward and introduces herself as Lady Rectitude. She basically stands for good behavior in general, or for people who do good things instead of bad ones. She reminds us that there's a big gap between knowing the right thing to do and doing it.
- Lady Rectitude pulls out a ruler that is supposed to represent the straight line separating right from wrong. She tells Christine that she can use this ruler to help measure and cut the stone and wood she needs to build her City of Ladies. That way, the path of goodness will be built directly into the city's structure.