Mary Astell

Jennie Batchelor (University of Kent at Canterbury)

Ed. by Janet Todd, University of Cambridge
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

Born 12 Nov 1666
Died 1731
Activity 1694-1709

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Cultural Identities

Feminist

Activities

Primary

Educationalist
Pamphleteer
Polemicist

Resources

Astell's Works

Save to Bookshelf

Today Mary Astell is known as the first English feminist. In certain respects this title is something of a misnomer. The feminist concerns of Astell's work, including her passionate advocation of female education and vehement condemnation of the inequalities of marriage, had been addressed by earlier women writers such as Bathsua Makin and Anna Van Schurman. Equally, Astell's status as a feminist writer has troubled some critics who struggle to equate her assertion of the rights of women in marriage with her High Tory Anglican principles and her belief in the Divine Right of Kings. Unfortunately, little concrete biographical evidence exists to chronicle Astell's life. Unlike the better known feminist writer and novelist Mary Wollstonecraft, whose works are often perceived through the…

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2078 words

Citation: Batchelor, Jennie. "Mary Astell". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 March 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=168, accessed 21 November 2024.]