page_title: Women in the Enlightenment
section_title: Coffeehouses
hierarchical_section_title: Women in the Enlightenment / Coffeehouses
caption_attribution_description: Print of Moll King of Tom King's Coffee House in Covent Garden fame
context_page_description: The role of women in the Enlightenment is debated. It is acknowledged that women during this era were not considered of equal status to men, and much of their work and effort were suppressed. Even so, salons, coffeehouses, debating societies, academic competitions and print all became avenues for women to socialize, learn and discuss enlightenment ideas. For many women, these avenues furthered their roles in society and created stepping stones for future progress.
  The Enlightenment came to advance ideals of liberty, progress, and tolerance. For those women who were able to discuss and advance new ideals, discourse on religion, political and social equality, and sexuality became prominent topics in the salons, debating societies, and in print. While women in England and France gained arguably more freedom than their counterparts in other countries, the role of women in the Enlightenment was typically reserved for those of middle and also the upper-class families, were then allowed and able to access money to join societies and the education to participate in debate. Therefore, the women in the Enlightenment only represented a small class of society and not the entire female sex.
context_section_description: A coffeehouse was a place where English virtuosi would gather to converse and educate in a civilized setting. People of all levels of knowledge gathered to share and debate information and interests. Coffeehouses brought people together to learn, but they were not associated with any university or institution. As informal practices of education, coffeehouses were often condemned and deemed improper by male scholars who were accustomed to completely male-dominated institutions.
  Coffeehouses is where most all women were involved, like the one run by Moll King, were said to degrade traditional, virtuosic, male-run coffeehouses. King's fashionable coffeehouse operated into late hours of the night and catered to clientele very different from the virtuosi. Her coffeehouse shows that Enlightenment women were not always simply the timid gender, governors of polite conversation, or protectorates of aspiring artists.
caption: Moll King
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