Cristine de Pizan e le emozioni per la Cità des Dames

Abstract

Historical interest in the emotions leads us to question their role in feminine utopias at the end of the Middle Ages. A major source is illustrated work La cité des Dames (1405) by Christine de Pizan (1365-1430). B.H. Rosenwein, W. Reddie and K.Oatley offer psycho-social interpretative categories (emotional communities and emotional regime) useful to link utopian ideas, emotional values and interpersonal rapports between sexes. The ideal community, according to B.H. Rosenwein, as emotional community helps us to identify which feelings were rejected or rewarded to express oneself and build this city. The qualitative analysis of Pizan’s work focuses the educational use of myths, the experiences of the writer in the context of the period and the cultural meaning attributed to the emotions.