Lack Of Knowledge By Mary Astell

In the writing by Mary Astell, Mary describes that women should strive for higher learning or knowledge instead of falling behind men when it comes to decision making. Mary is a well-educated woman herself and she could therefore see the injustice of the treatment to women during her time period a lot clearer than most other women. It became visible to her the lack of choice women were given, “A woman, indeed, can’t properly be said to choose; all that is allowed her, is to refuse or accept what is offered.” (Pg. 2422) In this line, Mary hints that women only have a choice between slim amounts of offerings for marriage. She is later seen saying if women were more knowledgeable they would likely hold a higher standard for themselves “If

2422) Mary makes it clear in that statement that her view on love is not about beauty or wit but nonetheless the freedom and intelligence to love is the key to marriage. During the time of her writing there were very few marriages that were not arranged for the sack of wealth but the ones that married for love were the ones that stayed together and viewed upon by Mary as knowledgeable and heroic “suppose he marries for love, an heroic action, which makes a mighty noise in the world,” (Pg. 2421) A difference between the two stories is that Eve in “Paradise Lost” seems to use no intelligence when it comes to love saying “So dear I love him, that with him all deaths I could endure,” (Bk. 9 Ln 833) She seems as if life without Adam is not life at all, but while Eve does not have to worry about wealth or any other modern marriage problems it is easy to conclude this. Mary gives us a more intelligent view with explaining that there is no need for a man that does not truly love you and you can live without wealth. “For happiness does not depend on wealth.” (Pg.

With Mary’s writing, she implies that God intended woman to be obedient even though she personally disagrees with it. “Heaven will fall in of course; and if she make but an obedient and dutiful wife, she cannot miss.” (Pg. 2423) But we see Mary’s own rebellion is trying to influence women to be disobedient “woman has no mighty obligations to the man who makes love to her;” (Pg. 2424) this same thought of obedience leading to disobedience can be connected with Milton’s “Paradise Lost”. Eve is taught to listen to Adam and Adam is her connection to God. Milton Describes Eve as lesser than Adam very vaguely, “Whence true authority in men; though both not equal, as their sex not equal seemed;” (Bk 4 Ln 295) When God’s angels come to speak to Adam, Eve must rely on Adam to feed her the information and trust in his word. We can see in book 8 that eve is to leave the conversation when Adam is talking “Served by more noble than herself, attains her end without least motion” (Bk 8 Ln 35) With all of these notations that Eve is less than Adam we see how she wants Adam to join her so they will both become equal in knowledge by the statement “Thou therefore also taste, that equal lot may join us, equal joy, as equal love.” (Bk 9 Ln 881) This act is the first disobedience from our “Paradise Lost” characters’ and shows the rebellion from