Title: Mary Astell : theorist of freedom from domination /
Authors: Springborg, Patricia.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press,
Year: 2005
Subjects: Astell, Mary, Political and social views.; Women's rights Great Britain History; Feminism Great Britain History
Abstract: "Philosopher, theologian, educational theorist, feminist and political pamphleteer, Many Astell was an important figure in the history of ideas of the early modern period. She contributed to the British debate over toleration and dissent from the 1690s, which inaugurated the modern secular state. Among the first systematic critics of John Locke's entire corpus, she is best known for the famous question that prefaces her Reflections on Marriage: 'If all men are born free, how is it that all women are born slaves?' She is claimed by modern Republican theorists and feminists alike, but as she is a High Church Tory, the peculiar constellation of her views sits uneasily with modern commentators.
Contents: Introduction : Astell and early modern feminism -- Mary Astell, philosopher, theologian and polemicist -- Astell, Drake, education, epistemology and the Serious proposal -- Astell on marriage, patriarchalism and contractarianism -- Mary Astell and the Settlement of 1689 -- A fair way with the dissenters and their patrons -- Astell, Locke and the highwayman : a test case -- Astell, Drake and the historical legacy of freedom.