Mary Astell's Hope For Women During The Seventeenth Century

If a person did not have hope they would be constantly anxious. That person would be so worried he or she would be unable to see the goodness or love in life. Hope according to Christians is letting themselves be taken care of by God. Because of this Christians are not preoccupied with fears and can focus their time into something productive, like Mary Astell did (Piper). Mary Astell put her hope in God inspired women during the seventeenth century.

The seventeenth century was one of the worst times to be alive, especially for women. During this time period there were political, economic, religious, and social problems that created tension. The seventeenth century included the Thirty Years’ War, Age of Enlightenment, French Revolution, decline of the church,

Women during the seventeenth century were unable to become lawyers, doctors, or anything like that. Only some women were employed as spinners, domestic servant, dyers, tailors, midwives, embroiderers. In general, most women stayed home as housewives. A housewife was responsible for doing various things around the house or the farm that required physical labor and knowledge. Also girls spent less time on their education and more time on skills, like singing (Lambert). The conditions during the seventeenth century were brutal and needed to be changed, which Mary Astell saw and took action. Mary Astell was an English feminist writer, philosopher, and rhetorician, who brought hope to women during the seventeenth century. On November 12th, 1666, Mary Astell was born in Newcastle. She was born into a upper middle class family that consisted of her father, Peter Astell, her mother, Mary Errington, and two younger brothers, but one died in infancy. Mary Astell’s father was a manager of a local coal company that supported the family financially. Astell, because she is a girl, received little to no education.