- Feb 2018
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quod.lib.umich.edu quod.lib.umich.edu
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muddy Pleasures of sensual Delights
"sensual" here means "of the senses" = earthly or base pleasures that are not of the spiritual kind.
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It has a spe∣cial force to dilate our hearts, to deliver them from that vi∣cious selfishness and the rest of those sordid passions, which express a narrow illiberal temper, and are of such per∣nitious consequence to man∣kind.
What "sordid pleasures" might Astell be referring to, here?
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No: Ev'ry act of our Religious Votary shall be voluntary and free, and no other tye but the Pleasure, the Glory and Ad∣vantage of this blessed Re∣tirement, to confine her to it
England has up to now had a history of requiring citizens to publicly proclaim their faith (Protestant or Catholic, depending on the monarch), so Astell imagines a freer society here, perhaps considering the new place of government after the Reformation.
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Money
take a look at all the times "money" is mentioned in this text and how this might give us a glimpse of the target audience.
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here is a sort of Learning indeed which is worse than the greatest Igno∣rance: A woman may study Plays and Romances all her days, & be a great deal more knowing, but never a jot the wiser. Such a Knowledge as this serves only to instruct and put her forward in the practice of the greatest Fol∣lies;
But there's a bad side of learning! Novels and Plays (i.e. entertainment) rot the brain. Can you think of similar arguments that are made today? Why would Astell be against reading of this sort?
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Being the Soul was created for the contemplation of Truth, as well as for the fruition of Good, is it not as cruel and unjust to preclude Women from the knowledge of the one, as well as from the en∣joyment of the other?
Here Astell refers to arguments quoting the Bible that suggested women were not meant to be educated (e.g. taught to read)
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It shall not so cut you off from the world, as to hinder you from bettering and improv∣ing it; but rather qualify you to do it the greatest Good, and be a Seminary to stock the Kingdom with pious and prudent Ladies
This statement qualifies the one marked above. Why would Astell wait so many paragraphs to explain this? Think about how this text is organized, and what it suggests about her readers.
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And now having discove∣red the Disease and its cause, 'tis proper to apply a Reme∣dy; single Medicines are too weak to cure such compli∣cated Distempers, they re∣quire a full Dispensatory
Astell transitions from identifying the problem to proposing a solution.
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Doubtless a truly Christian Life requires a clear Understanding, as well as regular Affections, that both together may move the Will to a direct choice of Good, and a sted∣fast adherence to it. For tho the heart may be honest, it is but by chance that the Will is right, if the Under∣standing be ignorant and Cloudy.
Note here a rhetoric that combines of knowledge and religious faith, much like was discussed in the reading from the Broadview anthology.
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By an habitual inadvertency we render our selves incapable of any serious & improving thought, till our minds themselves become as light and frothy as those things they are conversant about.
To Astell, the mind is something that can atrophy, to the point where we can train ourselves to be ignorant and impervious to knowledge. Do we think that's true?
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Will she who has a jot of discernment think to satisfy her greedy desire of Plea∣sure, with those promising nothings that have again & again deluded her? Or, will she to obtain such Bubbles, run the risque of forfeiting Joys, infinitely satisfying and eternal? In sum, did not ignorance impose on us, we would never lavish out the greatest part of our Time and Care, on the decoration of a Tenement, in which our Lease is so very short, and which for all our indust∣ry, may lose it's Beauty e're that Lease be out, and in the mean while neglect a Page 44 more glorious and durable Mansion! We wou'd never be so curious of the House, and so careless of the Inha∣bitant, whose beauty is ca∣pable of great improvement, and will endure for ever without diminution or de∣cay!
The house analogy here refers to the absurdity of caring of physical beauty over one's mind (and soul). It also strangely maintains women's interests within the realm of the domestic.
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pro∣fane noisy Nonsense of men, whose Fore-heads are better than their Brains to pass un∣der that Character
How do you think men reacted to this essay? Do you think they read it at all?
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