In a brief exchange with Lady Reason early in the Livre de la cite des dames, Christine de Pizan turns to one of the common themes in medieval misogynistic rhetoric: the vile or deformed nature of the female body. So defective is the female body that Nature herself is ashamed at having created it. Christine locates these views in one particular text, what she calls Du secret des femmes (which I shall refer to for the moment by both its Latin and French titles, Secreta mulierum/Secres des dames). Christine's opinion of this work is unambiguous: it is a" traittie tout de ｭ･ ｮｾｯｮｧ･ ｳ LB@" a treatise composed of lies":

" Un autre petit livre en Iatin vi, dame, qui se nomme Du secret des femmes qui dit de la composicion de leur corps nature!, moult de grans deffaulx." Responce:" Tu puez congnoistre par toy meismes sans nulle autre preuve, que celluy livre fu fait a voulente et faintement couloure: car se tu l'as leu, ce te puet estre chose magnifeste que il est traittie tout de ｭ･ ｮｾｯｮｧ･ ｳ NB@(Curnow," Cite" 1.27, p. 649)