Mary Astell Poet
- Gender: Female
- Citizenship: England
- Born: Nov 12, 1666
- Died: May 11, 1731
Mary Astell (12 November 1666 - 11 May 1731) was an English feminist writer and rhetorician. Her advocacy of equal educational opportunities for women has earned her the title "the first English feminist."
Few records of Mary Astell's life have survived. As biographer Ruth Perry explains, "as a woman she had little or no business in the world of commerce, politics, or law. She was born, she died; she owned a small house for some years; she kept a bank account; she helped to open a charity school in Chelsea: these facts the public listings can supply." Only four of her letters were saved and these because they had been written to important men of the period. Researching the biography, Perry uncovered more letters and manuscript fragments, but she notes that if Astell had not written to wealthy aristocrats who could afford to pass down entire estates, very little of her life would have survived.
How can a Man respect his Wife when he has a contemptible Opinion of her and her Sex?
respect
God is His own Design and End, and that there is no other Worthy of Him.
design
Every Body has so good an Opinion of their own Understanding as to think their own way the best.
best
But, alas! what poor Woman is ever taught that she should have a higher Design than to get her a Husband?
design & marriage
Unhappy is that Grandeur which makes us too great to be good and that Wit which sets us at a distance from true Wisdom.
wisdom
Ignorance and a narrow education lay the foundation of vice, and imitation and custom rear it up.
education
Certain I am, that Christian Religion does no where allow Rebellion.
religion