Boccaccio, Machiavelli and De Pizan

Paper Summary:

In this paper, Machiavelli's "The Prince" and Boccaccio's "Decameron" are compared and contrasted on several different levels. Both works are considered in terms of their historical contexts. Questions of leadership and social change are also analyzed in terms of the authors' works. The paper also compares Machiavelli's philosophy to that of Christine de Pizan. Finally, the author examines both works in terms of their gender roles.

Morality and Virtue in the Society: Social and Political Perspectives from Niccolo Machiavelli and Christine de Pizan
Machiavelli and De Pizan on Gender Role Differences

From the Paper:

"De Pizan, on the other hand, offered a different way of looking into a political issue, especially if this issue involves an important sector in the society: women. In her discourse, "The Treasure of the City of Ladies," De Pizan contemplated how human society had developed the psyche and perception that females are inherently inferior to males. This issue was borne out of the author's observation how literary and scholarly works portray a common stereotype of women as subversive to men, depicted as uneducated and not able to create decisions for themselves. In the words of Pizan, "learned men" tend depict women through 'wicked insults" about their behavior. This drove her to investigate and know the origin of this perception and wrong portrayal of women in Western societies."

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