Mary Astell was born in 1666 in Newcastle. Her parents (Peter Astell and Mary Errington) had three children, of which she was the eldest. Her uncle, Ralph Astell, was a clergyman, and was known to be a strong influence on her life. This influence introduced her to, and made her quite familiar with Anglican theology and Cartesian philosophy (Broad).
When Mary was twelve years old, in 1678, her father passed away. This death wreaked havoc on the Astell family, and thir financial and social situation suffered greatly. Mary Errington, Astell’s mother, took out loans to support the family (Springborg). It is believed that had Mary Astell decided to marry, her family wouldn’t have been able to afford a dowry. She remained unmarried and childless throughout her life, though there had been some rumors about a possible engagement (Broad).
Mary moved to London, sometime in the late 1680s, and it is believed that she made this move without any financial support from her family. It is here that she wrote a book of manuscript poetry dedicated to Archbishop William Sancroft. In 1693, Astell started her works in philosophy. She engaged in a correspondence with John Norris – these letters were eventually published under the name Letters Concerning the Love of God (1695) (Broad).
Following this work, Mary continued working in the philosophical. She published her first Proposal in 1694. She followed this first work with a second part – focused on the improvement of the lives of women. Drawing upon the works of Descartes to build the foundation of this work, Astell found herself and her works starting to grow in popularity around London. She found herself in the company of several ladies of high social status, including Lady Elizabeth Hastings, Lady Ann Coventry, and Lady Catherine Jones. These friendships and alliances helped Astell to continue her writing career (Broad).
In the year 1700, Astell published Some Reflections upon Marriage, which became her most famous feminist work (Sutherland). This piece was written as a response to the marriage of Hortense Mancini, the duchess of Mazarin, as her marriage was seen as scandalous. After this work, she was commissioned to write more political pamphlets (Sowaal). Then, Astell released her “longest and most sophisticated” work in the field of moral philosophy, The Christian Religion, as Profess’d by a Daughter of the Church of England. This piece really brought her feminist beliefs to light, and built off of her other works (Broad).
Mary Astell did not publish any new works after the year 1709. However, evidence suggests that she continued writing and editing her works. She remained a proponent of female education throughout her entire life, and took up the responsibility of running a charity school for young women in her neighborhood. She continued her argument that women should receive higher education through the entirety of her life, and constantly challenged the idea that women were academically and mentally inferior to men (Broad). As an early feminist, Astell’s works contributed to a civil rights movement that lasted several hundred years (Perry).