Knocking on the City of Ladies' Door: The Transgenerational, Transcendent Friendship of Christine de Pizan and Catherine d'Amboise

Christine de Pizan adapted the literary conventions of male intellectual and spiritual friendship to her relationships with contemporary male authors—notably in the debate over Le Roman de la rose—but also to her virtual friendships with deceased and "otherworldly" female authors. Noteworthy examples are Dame Fortune in Le Livre de la Mutacion de Fortune and the "transgenerational spiritual sisterhood" evoked at length in the Livre de la cité des dames, a celebration of women's contributions to culture throughout the ages. A century after Christine's death, Catherine d'Amboise's Complincte de la dame pasmee contre Fortune combines the Boethian tradition that inspired Christine with a "friendly continuation" of the dialogue on the nature of friendship as a source of consolation. By transcending time and space, such an ideal sisterhood empowers women to resist the vicissitudes of Fortune.