Evolution of the Trobairitz: La Comtessa de Dia v. Joni Mitchell

While the vida of la Comtessa de Dia does not say much, we know from her forthright cansos that she was a strong woman who believed in the female right to declare her love. She often sung of romantic longing and sensuous desire, "reclaiming and reconverting the role of love's marytr" (Bruckner et. al. xxx). La Comtessa de Dia is, in fact, the most famous and influential trobairitz of her time. A feminist and revolutionary, she assumes the typical male role in the song; she demands the power in the relationship. Joni Mitchell, similarly, is considered one of the most important and renowned female musicians and singer-songwriters of the 21st century. She composed her own songs on the guitar, conjuring chords that had never before been mastered. Her music has influenced male and female artists after her: Led Zeppelin, Morrissey, Stevie Nicks, Madonna, Kurt Cobain and Cat Power. Like la Comtessa, she openly conveyed her longing in her songs. For my creative project, I was interested in the evolution of the trobairitz from the Medieval period to modern-day. I decided to juxtapose the lyrics of la Comtessa de Dia and Joni Mitchell, who in my mind are both strong women declaring their love and desire to the world. Indeed, the common themes in their lyrics were pride, love, and the constant tug of war between the two. In "A chanter m'er," la Comtessa regrets having to sing about such a sore subject, but she does so anyway. She admonishes the man for being too prideful, when she is arguably too proud herself. Joni Mitchell, on the other hand, understands her position as a strong female and trumpets "the lady's choice" in still loving a man who has betrayed her. However, Mitchell shows strength and pride in her vulnerability. She told Rolling Stone, "At that period of my life, I had no personal defenses. I felt like a cellophane wrapper on a pack of cigarettes. I felt like I had absolutely no secrets from the world and I couldn't pretend in my life to be strong." Surrendering the pretense, she was able to truly declare her feelings and still exude the same passion and strength that la Comtessa does in her song. After comparing their lyrics, I wanted to portray the evolution and the deconstruction of pride in trobairitz culture through image. In order to do so, I captured my own images to show the continuity (and discontinuity) of certain trobairitz. Troubadours and trobairitz, unfortunately, are only really ever captured in image as a very stylized icon. Still, the icon of la Comtessa is telling of the trobairitz culture in that era: a woman beautiful in her own right shows strength by declaring her desire. Her stance, hand gesture, costume and lack of instrument show that she is a woman of status and above any jongleur. On the other hand, the more modern image of Joni Mitchell shows how far trobairitz have gone since the Middle Ages. The portrayal of Mitchell is more organic than stylized and more liberated than trapped within the confines of pride. Her costume, heels, and facial expression are her respective signs of strength. While both women show strength in their lyric and image, it is clear that the idea of feminism has evolved according to the temporal contexts.