mckaywest11e

Quiz for Primary Source 11.5: Christine de Pizan, Advice to the Wives of Artisans

Question

1. Which of these might Christine de Pizan have seen as bad advice?

A good wife knows that her husband’s work is none of her business.

Parents should be careful not to overindulge their children.

A good wife helps her family run a frugal household.

A good wife does what she can to encourage her husband to stay home at night.

Correct. The answer is a. Christine de Pizan believed that a woman’s economic security depended on her knowledge and involvement in all aspects of the family’s business and finances.

Incorrect. The answer is a. Christine de Pizan believed that a woman’s economic security depended on her knowledge and involvement in all aspects of the family’s business and finances.

Question

2. Which of these did Christine de Pizan see as a common mistake made by parents?

Subjecting children to too much discipline

Trying too hard to satisfy children’s whims and desires

Committing children too early to training for a trade

Paying too little attention to children’s hopes and wishes

Correct. The answer is b. In Christine de Pizan’s view, parents who overindulged their children were setting them on a path towards “wickedness and ruin.”

Incorrect. The answer is b. In Christine de Pizan’s view, parents who overindulged their children were setting them on a path towards “wickedness and ruin.”

Question

3. Which of these describes Christine de Pizan’s ideal artisan’s wife?

Thrifty, kind, and hard working

Pretty, sophisticated, and clever

Modest, meek, and mild

Brash, independent, and single-minded

Correct. The answer is a. In Christine de Pizan’s view, the ideal artisan’s wife sought constantly to save her family from unnecessary expense, to protect and grow the family business, and to prepare her children for productive lives.

Incorrect. The answer is a. In Christine de Pizan’s view, the ideal artisan’s wife sought constantly to save her family from unnecessary expense, to protect and grow the family business, and to prepare her children for productive lives.