Margaret Cavendish's Role In The Scientific Revolution

During the Middle Ages, except for those in religious positions, women were only seen as three things, which were daughter, wife, and mother. But in the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries, new opportunities in learning humanism arose for only those in the higher class families. Even though they started to educate themselves, the majority had no rights whatsoever in money matters as well as estate. From the 17th century and up to the scientific revolution, women’s rights had consistently been improving. However, during the revolution, the study of the human body brought to attention that the male brain is quite larger than that of a female. This revelation set back the female race back to a limited role, but this time this setback was

After reading “A Nocturnal Reverie” by Anne Finch readers are able to see the transformation of gender roles through time. “A Nocturnal Reverie” was written in the 18th century, which was the start to improve the way women would be viewed in society. This was the start to many advances for women from

In the economy of 1709 there were a lot of women that had very bright futures as mothers and wives also the way the women impacted their communities, but there were some that didn’t get so lucky. In this time “the women are very fruitful; most houses are filled with little ones… They have very easy travail in their child-bearing, in which they are so happy, as seldom miscarry…” (Voices of Freedom 61). The readers can see that some women had a very joyous life but there are some that were called witches and burned or hung for it. In New England “most were women beyond child-bearing age who were outspoken, economically independent, or estranged from their husbands…” (An American History 89). It’s really amazing on the two points of view of

Life during the 1700's was difficult in most ways, but the expectations placed on women was exceptionally harsh when compared to the roles of men due to an unwarranted double standard. David Bodanis' “Passionate Minds: The Great Scientific Affair of the Enlightenment” continuously portrays how the actions of Emilie du Chatelet were not only uncommon for a female but also frowned upon. Emilie was an remarkable scientist, but because of the double standard placed on women she had to overcome many obstacles that her male counterparts did not have to face. Emilie was forced to face society's double standard early into her scientific career even from other women. Madame Du Deffand stated that Emilie “ preferred the study of the most abstract science to more agreeable knowledge” (46).

Due to her father’s want of an intellectual heir, Margaret Fuller, born in Cambridge in 1810, had the rare opportunity few girls had during her time- she was properly educated. Influenced momentously by Romanticism and New England Transcendentalism, Fuller emphasized the human consciousness and viewed the self as a possible instrument for societal change. Known as an intellectual, literary critic, leading transcendentalist and journalist, Fuller was one of the first women to carve out an important place for herself in society. Throughout her impressive work as a scholar, Fuller displayed that women were capable of abstract reasoning and holding positions of authority.

In Margaret Cavendish’s essay The Blazing World she creates a world of her own where she rules as a sovereign and is afforded a power that would not otherwise be possible for her: “…if any should like the world I have made and be willing to be my subjects, they may imagine themselves such, and they are such, I mean in their minds…; but if they cannot endure to be subjects, they may create worlds of their own and govern themselves as they please” (1785). In this passage, Margaret Cavendish exposes her own idiosyncratic philosophy concerning her position in society as a woman, female author and a member of a court that was ostracized. By prolifically writing about herself, she attempts to exercise her right to a voice and uses it as an

During the Scientific Revolution women decided they were going to erupt from the tradition of being housewives and study science, literature, and astronomy even if men and other women would shun upon them. From the 1600s to the 1700s women attempted to make a break through, some women neglected house worthy chores, personal appearance, and more so that they could study. Although some women did all of these "chores and duties" and still had time to learn about science and other fields.

Frith's article entitled Sex, smallpox and seraglios: a monument to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was written in order to show the way life was for a woman in the eighteenth century. Her article illustrates what the role of men and women were during the 18th century. Furthermore, it shows what happened to women when they broke through these societal restrictions. There were three underlying points in Frith's article, she mainly focused on; the restrictions that women had in society, the extreme importance of beauty in western society and the societal differences between western society and eastern society regarding women. Frith is also trying to show that our world

To begin with, in order to understand the philosophies of Margaret Cavendish one must also understand the Scientific Revolution. The Scientific Revolution was a revolution in both thought and methodology. During the Renaissance science comprised of the organic theories of the magicians and vitalistic theories created by chemists. Additionally, humans personified the world as a motherly figure i.e. Mother Earth and Mother Nature; however with advances in technology all

Despite being criticised and ignored women continued to fight to be treated as equals and to be allowed to be a part of a male dominated field and career. And excellent example of this is Maria Merian. Merian was an important entomologist who in 1699 went on an expedition to the Dutch colony of Suriname. There, she worked to collect and draw samples of plants and insect life. Merian illustrated 60 drawings that depicted the reproductive and developmental cycles of Suriname's insect life. Furthermore, Margaret Cavendish was a major influential figure of her time. She was critical of the belief that through science humans would be the masters of nature. She practiced with experimental philosophy and made observations about nature

Martha’s tasks as a midwife and personality may have been different from other women during this period, but all of them had one goal and that was to please their husbands. Martha Ballard’s role in a male dominant society was highly sought after because she was very popular between 1789 and

The greatest of these feminist ‘Amazons’ was Mary Wollstonecraft. Her Vindication of the Rights of Woman was published in 1792, and still speaks directly to us. But she was by no means alone. Catherine Macaulay was one of the women figures of the 18th century. She is well-known for her multi-volume History of England. In 1790, she wrote Letters on Education, arguing, as Wollstonecraft would do a little later, that women’s weaknesses were utterly abnormal and unnatural, but were yielded by the bad quality of education that women were subject to. Macaulay was also a ferocious opponent to the sexual double standard, insisting that a one single sexual experience does not turn a virgin into a wanton. She adamantly discarded the notion that women

During this time she signed up to be a maid to King Charles I’s wife, Queen Henrietta Maria, which she was accepted to be. Margaret followed the queen to Paris during her exile and it was there that she met her husband, William Cavendish. Her husband, Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, was a man with connections to the other great minds of the time, which allowed her to know them. He was very supportive of her dreams of being a published writer and helped her in any way he could. Her marriage also made her Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Margaret went on to write philosophical works about reasoning and natural inquiry and other scientific thoughts and ideas. She was different than other women thinkers of her time because she did not write about religion. She is important because her works provide fodder for other philosophers of her time and after, to think about and to give their opinion about. Her works provide material on different philosophies that are still around today and she explains these philosophies and why they are

Women like her were starting to be known in England, both in literature and real life. In fact, Diana Vernon’s general demeanor and overall direction bears more than a little similarity to the suggestions that Maria Edgeworth writes to women in her essay The Nobel Science of Self-Justification. Interestingly enough, Edgeworth’s essay aims itself towards women about to be married, which fits and makes the comparisons that much more apparent. Almost as if she jumped forward in time and read the essay herself, Diana proves that she got the science down and uses numerous tricks in order to, subtly, manipulate the men around her. Of course, that isn’t to say that she has nefarious motives. In fact, looking at her role from afar, she doesn’t make too much of a difference in the grand scale of the plot. However, within her own realm, Osbaldistone Hall, she proves her capability of keeping up with everyone around her, even the rest of her cousins, who are rough, drunken men who regularly go on hunts. Blending her traditional femininity with both scholarly and more sporty hobbies and interests, Ms. Vernon blurs the lines of gender’s supposed relationship with biological

In this piece I will be showing the role of women in the 18th century