In Her Own Defense

Having written so critically about society and the monarchy, Marie prepared a defense for her craft (and herself) in Guigemar:

Whoever deals with good material feels pain if it's treated improperly.
Listen, my lords, to the words of Marie,
who does not forget her responsibilities when her turn comes.
People should praise anyone
who wins admiring comments for herself.
But anywhere there is
a man or a woman of great worth,
people who envy their good fortune
often say evil things about them;
they want to ruin their reputations.
Thus they act like
vicious, cowardly dogs
who bite people treacherously.
I don't propose to give up because of that;
if spiteful critics or slanderers
wish to turn my accomplishments against me,
they have a right to their evil talk.