Chang (238) narrates that Louise Labé was a Renaissance female poet from France and was born in 152e in Lyon and died in Parcieux on April 25, 1566. Her father, Pierre Charly, was a wealthy rope-maker. Her mother was known as Etiennette Roybet. Labe also became known as La Belle Cordière, French for “The Beautiful Ropemaker”, apparently because she was the daughter of a rope-maker. Labe’s father educated her in languages and music after which she would join a prominent literary circle in Lyon as a writer. Labe’s Euvres (Works) was published by Jean de Tournes, a printer from Lyon, in the year 1955. The same printer and in the same year published three elegies and “Debate Between Love and Madness”, an allegory, that were done by Labe. 24 other poems that were in praise of Labe but were written by other writers were also printed by the printer. According to Chang (238), Labe would later claim her place among the School of Lyons thanks to her sonnets which have since endured as the best known literary works by the writer. Labe was an encouragement to other women as she made them believe that they could debate, study, speak, and write freely in the world of letters that was then male-dominated.
The book “High Anxiety: Masculinity in Crisis in Early Modern France”, authored by Kathleen P. Long, on its first page describes the controversy that surrounded Louise Labe as a writer. According to Long (1), Labe was described as “plebeia meretrix”, translating into “vulgar courtesan” by one writer known as Calvin. On the same note, Long (1) cites one of the works of Claude de Ruby in which the writer describes Labe as an immodest person who until her death was known to be a prostitute by everyone. Long however notes that such criticism was bound to happen to a woman who was involved in love poetry writing in the early stages of modern Europe. This is because ““she was entering into public discourse, exposing the beauty of her language, akin to her body, to the masculine gaze”” (Long, 1). The literary world continued to be critically obsessed with the sexual conduct of Louise Labe beyond the writer’s immediate literary heirs.
Another writer that tried to address Labe’s prostitution controversy, as pointed out by Long (1), was Gerard Guillot. The writer compiled a biography of Labe and the first question he sought to address in the biography was whether or not Labe was a prostitute. Guillot then continued to narrate that a contemporary secondary school in Lyon considered Labe’s name as having been tainted and thus refused to be named after the writer. According to Long (1), even the late 20th Century critical discourse hugely discussed the controversial behavior that tainted Labe’s reputation. This far, it is worth noting that Louise Labe’s sexual behavior was often the focus of criticisms, explicitly or implicitly. However, “even among early modern critics, these statements are often embedded within complimentary language about her intellectual capacities and her poetic genius” (Long, 1). It implies that even the fiercest of critics never fail to acknowledge the beauty and appeal of Labe’s works.
In her book “Complete Poetry and Prose: A Bilingual Edition”, Louise Labe argues that the contributions she made to the society, both as a writer and a champion of the place of women in the society, can never be overshadowed by the criticisms that were directed her way. The book was translated by Deborah Lesko Baker and Annie Finch. According to the book, the contemporary reader can enjoy seductive cultural mythology thanks to Labe’s works (Labe, 1). Labe (1) also points to the struggle that any woman who ventured into writing during the Renaissance period would go through. Through her works, readers get to understand how an individual would timelessly struggle in order to create a connection between them and other people in the world or the society in which they live. The implication here is that the criticisms were part of the struggle she had to undergo as a woman. “Whether adopting the authorial first person as a champion of women’s rights to education and public self-expression, or appropriating the mouthpieces of mythological characters involved in dialogue and debate on gender, art, and love, Labe trumpets at once the plight and the potential of women seeking to navigate the cultural expectations and social norms inherent in their times” (Labe, 1).
“Une Charogne” is one poem in which Louise Labe highlights the struggle of a woman in the renaissance period, using herself as an example. The theme of the poem is that life is a mixture of happiness and hardships. Therefore, the poem is based on the fact that no matter the kind of life one leads, they are bound to go through moments of joy and moments of sorrow. The poem revolves around the characteristic of life whereby a good experience is followed by a bad one and vice versa. As Labe says, “Life is at once too soft and too hard” (Line 3). In the fourth line, she clearly states that she has “sore troubles mingled with joys”, a true pointer to the everyday nature of life. Labe also uses the poem to bring out the idea that no matter the hardship one goes through; they would finally endure and emerge victorious if they keep pushing through. She says, “Suddenly I laugh and at the same time cry, And in pleasure many a grief endure” (Lines 5 and 6). Interpreted, this means that one has to stay positive irrespective of the life hurdles they are facing. For instance, one would have to focus on good things and view negative ones as challenges that should serve as a source of motivation to them.
Labe, in “Une Charogne”, also encourages people to never give up in life because no condition is ever permanent. She says, “My happiness wanes and yet it lasts unchanged, All at once I dry up and grow green” (Lines 7 and 8). These lines mean that one can maintain their inner happiness even in the face of adversities. To show the inconsistent nature of life, Labe gives the example of love. She says in Line 9 that she suffers the inconstancies of love; “And when I think the pain is most intense, Without thinking, it is gone again” (Lines 10 and 11). Here, she means that love hurts and soothes and therefore, one should get prepared for the inconsistent journey of love before loving.
In the poem “Long-Felt Desires”, Louise Labe uses “love” to show that after undergoing several instances of hardships, one would develop a thick skin to whatever life would throw at them. In the poem, Labe narrates how love made her shed rivers of tears and pierced her soul like a spear. She laments, “Long-felt desires, hopes as long as vain–sad sighs–slow tears accustomed to run sad into as many rivers as two eyes could add” (Lines 1-3). Here, she means that inasmuch as one would stay hopeful for good things to happen to them, they would often end up being disappointed. They would thus be hoping against hope in most instances. The writer however notes that endless hardships only serve to strengthen human beings so that a time reaches when one never gets shaken by anything. She asks a rhetorical question thus, “Do you think love could root in my soul again?” (Line, 8). Here, the implication is that after she had experienced the worst that love could offer, she became ‘immune’ to the disappointments of love. In her words, “the wounds that cut me everywhere would keep me shielded, so there would be no place free for love” (Lines 12-14).
In conclusion, Louise Labe left a great legacy in the writing world as well as in the fight for women’s place in the society in spite of the criticisms. The poems analyzed herein are a testament that the works of the writer were and still are a source of inspiration to struggling humans, both men and women. It should be understood that her prime years coincided with the Renaissance period and therefore the society expected her to remain confided to the roles that women were assigned. She however defied all these and left behind literary works that can encourage every woman to cling onto their passion. Noteworthy, the criticisms started long before she died. However, she stayed put and continued doing what she loved most: writing.