The Power of Women: A Topos in Medieval Art and Literature by Susan L. Smith (review)

208Rocky Mountain Review it; much less does he attempt to project any a priori ideas onto the text. Another, more intangible virtue of the book is its projection of the author's deep respect and profound affection for his subject, as an artist and as a man. Finally, Shaw's writing style is generally clear, direct and concise (the chiefvirtues of the prose style of his subject). The book is available in both cloth and paper bindings. Three more volumes of the Collected Works are projected over the next two years. EARL SAMPSON University of Colorado, Boulder SUSAN L. SMITH. The Power of Women: A Topos in Medieval Art and Literature. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995. 294 p. With this handsome book Susan L. Smith provides an in-depth study of the medieval treatment and appropriation of images of proverbially sage men who have been overpowered by "wily" women. Smith traces the manner in which these topoi, initially presented during the time of St. Jerome (fourth century) as cautionary examples of the pernicious influence of women over men, were later adopted by writers and artists, particularly from the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries, in ways which, in fact, subvert the original misogynistic intent. The standard literary examples for the topos are the Biblical figures Adam, David and Solomon but Smith presents multiple variations, often in epigrammatic form: "Nee docto Salomone quidem tu doctior esse, / Nee David sancto sanctior esse potes, / Si Loth, Samsonen, si David, si Salomnem / Femina dejecit, quis modo tutus erit?" Tou can be neither more learned than the learned Solomon nor saintlier than the saintly David. If Lot, Samson, David and Solomon were all brought down by women, who now will be safe?' (30). Her selections of texts and authors , ranging from the anonymous Aucassin et Nicolette to Boethius' Consolatio philosophiae, with special emphasis on Jean de Meun's Roman de la Rose, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Christine de Pizan's Epistre au dieu d'Amours, are judicious ones. The volume is clearly organized, with Smith devoting the initial chapter to a careful presentation of the origins and permutations of the Power of Women topos. Chapter 2 examines literary manifestations of various versions of the topos while Chapter 3 concentrates specifically on the theme of the "Mounted Aristotle." Chapter 4 presents the visual images of Aristotle with such varied sources as a painted jug from Faenza to carved choir stalls of Cologne Cathedral. Once again, Smith's objects of discussion are intriguing and make for a truly enjoyable study for the reader. The final chapter considers different visual examples of the topos specifically from the fourteenth century. While Smith concentrates on the topos as seen in medieval works, she concludes her study with an astute overview of the limited appropriation of the topos during the Renaissance, particularly among printmakers, and emphasizes the way in which printing, by providing a Book Reviews209 complexity to the previously "reductive . . . treatment" of the figures in the Power of Women topos, ultimately led the way to the topos' near-total abandonment (199). Smith bases her analysis on a feminist critical approach and overall it is a thorough one, but it is evident at times that her premise of "the capacity ofthe example to be read differently" applies at times to her own arguments (28). Her selective interpretations of literary texts at times distort the medieval , and particularly the Church's, complete view of humanity. In addition , while many of the texts which she cites are indeed misogynist in nature, namely the patristic sources cited at the beginning of the volume, she neglects to mention that they often contain passages which are equally incriminatory of male behavior. It would seem that, where the literary texts are concerned, Smith has honed in on particular examples of the topos and not further considered them in the context of the entire text from which they are taken. For example, in discussing Christine de Pizan's Epistre, Smith rightly points out that Christine targets Ovid's Remedium amoris as singularly harsh in its condemnation of women. But Smith then offers a gratuitous and simply incorrect aside, "(Christine conveniently overlooks the Bible)" (63). Christine is an...