Contents
Introduction
1 The 17th Century Britain
1.1 Political Background
1.2 Population and Religion
1.3 Literature and Theatre
2 Female Authorship
2.1 Situation of Women
2.2 Writing and Publishing as a Woman
3 Margaret Cavendish
3.1 Biography
3.2 Life and Work as a Writer
3.3 Cavendish’s Natural Philosophy
3.4 The Atomic Poems
Summary
Bibliography
Introduction
The present paper deals with the topic oft female authorship in the literary world of the seventeenth-century England and puts the emphasis on an exceptional and prolific female writer: Margaret Cavendish.
This works is divided into three main parts. The first section serves as an introduction to the main topic and provides the reader with background information about the political, social, religious and literary situation during that time. It presents a review of the tumultuous succession of the English throne, the rising Puritan movement throughout the century and the development of English theatre after the era of the Elizabethan Stage at the end of the sixteenth century.
The second part describes women’s role in the patriarchal society of the seventeenth century and the difficulties of their every-day life. It also points out the obstacles and difficulties women encountered when trying to enter the male-dominated literary world and names Aphra Behn and Katherine Philips as two women, who, nevertheless, established themselves as successful female writers.
Finally, the third and last part of this paper is dedicated to the prolific writer Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle. It contains an overview of her life and work and especially examines her as the first woman to publish her own natural philosophy, for which she was criticized by many of her contemporaries.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1 The 17th Century Britain
1.1 Political Background
1.2 Population and Religion
1.3 Literature and Theatre
2 Female Authorship
2.1 Situation of Women
2.2 Writing and Publishing as a Woman
3 Margaret Cavendish
3.1 Biography
3.2 Life and Work as a Writer
3.3 Cavendish’s Natural Philosophy
3.4 The Atomic Poems
Summary
Objectives and Core Topics
This paper examines the landscape of female authorship in seventeenth-century England, focusing on the social, political, and literary obstacles women faced, while providing an in-depth case study of the life and work of Margaret Cavendish, an exceptional and prolific writer of that era.
- The political, social, and religious context of 17th-century Britain.
- The patriarchal societal structures and the difficulties women encountered in the literary world.
- Margaret Cavendish's biography and her unique position as a professional female writer.
- Cavendish's contributions to natural philosophy and her pioneering work in science fiction.
- The critical reception and feminist significance of Cavendish's literary and philosophical outputs.
Excerpt from the Book
3.4 The Atomic Poems
In the critical analysis of Margaret Cavendish’s work, most literary scholars made a strict distinction between her natural philosophical and her literary texts. But there are some indications in her writing, that she crossed the line between fiction and facticity more often than assumed. In her first anthology Poems and Fancies, for example, she published a series of atomic poems and therewith, creates a connection between natural philosophical content and a poetic-literary form. Those poems present a kind of atomism in keeping with the approach of many mechanical philosophers of her time but also repelled her critics, who described her work as “at once so extreme and so faithful that she shocked the enemies of atomism and embarrassed its friends.” She argued that every atom must be, in some way, animated with life and knowledge, since, in her opinion, not all natural phenomena could be explained by the motion of atoms. Poems and Fancies begins with an allegory: Nature summons a gathering, in order to discuss the creation of the world. Her helpers are Motion, Life and Matter. Only Death, enemy of Life and Nature, is able to destroy Nature’s work. But Death is disempowered: He can control Matter, but Nature gave humans an immortal Mind. Therefore, Death can only be a disturber. Thus, Nature begins its work by creating the world from atoms. Cavendish’s prelude is a secular history of creation that puts Nature in the place of the almighty God. The resemblance to the Genesis was obvious and the transference of almightiness from God to Nature regarded as very provocative and the following atomic poems as confirmation of Cavendish’s atheism. According to Margaret Cavendish, the world is created by the power of atoms, as stated in one of her poems A World made by Atomes from 1653:
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: This section outlines the scope of the paper, focusing on the literary world of seventeenth-century England and the role of Margaret Cavendish as a central figure of study.
1 The 17th Century Britain: This chapter provides necessary background on the political, social, and religious volatility of the century, including the transition from the Elizabethan era through the Civil War to the Restoration.
2 Female Authorship: This section explores the patriarchal constraints on women’s daily lives and the specific professional and social hurdles faced by women attempting to participate in the male-dominated literary sphere.
3 Margaret Cavendish: This chapter details the biography, literary career, philosophical views, and scientific writings of Margaret Cavendish, highlighting her defiance of gender norms and her early contributions to science fiction.
Summary: This concluding section synthesizes the historical context and the significance of Cavendish’s legacy, acknowledging her role in early literary feminism and natural philosophy.
Keywords
Margaret Cavendish, 17th Century, Female Authorship, Restoration, Puritanism, Natural Philosophy, Atomism, Science Fiction, Patriarchal Society, Literary Feminism, English Civil War, Biography, Intellectual History.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary subject of this academic paper?
The paper focuses on the state of female authorship in seventeenth-century England, specifically analyzing the challenges women faced in the literary world during this turbulent historical period.
What are the central themes addressed in the work?
Key themes include the political and religious shifts in Britain, the patriarchal restrictions on women, the emergence of early female professional writers, and the scientific contributions of Margaret Cavendish.
What is the research focus regarding Margaret Cavendish?
The work aims to highlight Margaret Cavendish’s identity as a prolific writer, examining how she navigated a society that limited women's education and public voice while establishing herself in both literature and natural philosophy.
Which methodology does the author employ?
The author uses a historical and biographical approach, contextualizing Cavendish’s life and work within the broader socio-political developments of the 17th century through literature review and analysis of her primary texts.
What does the main body of the paper cover?
The body covers the political and social background of 17th-century Britain, the status of women in that era, and a detailed examination of Cavendish’s biography, her views on natural philosophy, and her poetic exploration of atomism.
Which keywords are essential to understanding this text?
Essential keywords include Margaret Cavendish, 17th Century, female authorship, patriarchal society, natural philosophy, and atomism.
How did the seventeenth-century political climate affect women's writing?
The text explains that while the upheaval of the Civil War and the Restoration created significant social challenges, it also paradoxically created spaces for women's voices to emerge, even if they often had to publish anonymously to avoid stigma.
What was unique about Cavendish’s approach to natural philosophy?
Cavendish was the only seventeenth-century woman to publish extensively on natural philosophy, often challenging the mechanical philosophy of her time and proposing a theory where matter and motion were independent of spiritual or divine governance.
- Citar trabajo
- Luise Ihlo (Autor), 2010, Female authorship in the 17th century England at the example of Margaret Cavendish, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/144588
