Mary Astell: A Woman before Her Time

      When reading Mary Astell’s “Some Reflections upon Marriage”, I could easily picture reading something like this today. She has some strong feminist ideals, such as telling women, and men, not to marry without thinking through the choice. I have always been taught that marriage is not something to go into quickly and Astell seems to mimic that idea. Her first sentence, “If marriage be such a blessed state, how comes it, may you say, that there are so few happy marriages?” is a strong start and conveys her ideas. I expected this piece to take a more bitter approach to marriage, especially after reading the first sentence, but she is really just a woman who thinks marriage takes thought. 

        It is fairly easy to tell that this a feminist piece, but Astell includes an important part of feminism: not placing all the blame on someone else. She says that men should not just fall in love with wit or beauty, but she also says that women should, as they are allowed, make the choice to accept or decline what is offered. She later says that it is not entirely a woman’s fault because women have been taught that “she should have no higher design than to get her a husband”. Even if a woman’s thoughts are a product of her environment, she does, or at least should, have the option to refuse a proposal. A woman should think about who she is marrying before going along with it. Women did not have much of a choice, but Astell makes a case as for why they should. 

        Mary Astell makes several claims that are ahead of her time. This causes backlash, but it is also an inspiration for change. She has an opinion and is not afraid to write it down. What she says makes sense and these are ideas that should definitely be around today. Marriage should not be thought about and there should be several reasons for getting married. Marrying for beauty, wit, and money are not the best options.