Complete Poetry and Prose: A Bilingual Edition

Renaissance Quarterly, Winter, 2006 by Cathleen M. Bauschatz

The volume, like the Labe edition, is extremely scholarly, and helps the reader with explanations of classical references, contemporary historical and social background, and attention to the later "fortunes" of the Dames des Roches. The bibliography is excellent, and includes both the best-known and lesser-known works by and about women in the French Renaissance.

The prose "Dialogues" of Catherine are presented only in English, as is true for the prose letters of Madeleine and Catherine. The translations of poetry are in verse, but are not rhymed. The translations are very readable and give the flavor of the originals. Whereas Madeleine often talks about problems such as illness or her legal affairs, Catherine's major theme is her status as a single, learned woman who dares to publish. One of the best-known poems of Catherine is "A ma quenouille" ("To my distaff"), which concludes that she would like to hold both the spindle and the pen, showing that she does not see a conflict between the demands of housework and of writing.

In reading through the entire collection, one gets a good sense of just how involved these women were with their community. We find poems to friends and relatives, to scholars such as Odet de Turnebe and Estienne Pasquier, and to nobles such as Jeanne de Bourbon and even to the king. The prose "Dialogues" pursue the theme of women's education, but in an allegorical or mythological format. There are some similarities here to Labe's "Debate," which the Des Roches may have known. The prose "Letters," published a year before the death of both women from the plague, show that both wrote letters, and the collection begins with epistles by each to the other, reinforcing the theme of mother-daughter love found throughout the volume. Several letters are to their publisher, Abel L'Angelier, one may be to Ronsard, and several express relief that the hostilities of the wars of religion appear to be over (another frequent theme of their writing).

It is difficult to do justice to these two translations in a short review. Students and scholars alike will benefit from the creativity and erudition displayed in both volumes. We will look forward to future additions to the Other Voice series.

CATHLEEN M. BAUSCHATZ

University of Maine