The person who is similar and yet different from Walter Charleton in many different ways is Margaret Cavendish. She was a well-known philosopher and worked in the Royal Society with Walter Charleton. Aside from being a philosopher, Cavendish had a side passion for creating poems and playwrights. She is credited with writing one of the first science fiction books of our time, I want to compare her accomplishments with that of Walter Charleton as they were both prolific philosophers who stepped out of the bubble of what society expected of each other. That was what society expected of a man and woman at the time. Someone at that time would place each philosopher in different grades simply due to their gender. The main connection between these two people is their ability to influence others in a heterogeneous number of subjects such as philosophy, physical science, history, or even poetry. It is important to note how the two developed in their early lives to when they met each other. This way we can compare how their early life is significant in their accomplishments which contributed to both individuals being part of the Royal Society at the same time. The Royal Society was started in 1660, it was a group of philosophers and scientists whose goal was to use scientific knowledge to benefit human life. It was founded by Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle, and John Wilkins. In their liking traits, they both have eccentric personalities which made them be seen as outliers among many groups in society.
Margaret Cavendish understood the meaning of being an outlier on a different level than Walter Charleton because she had different obstacles she would have to overcome as a woman in a male-dominated area. Margaret Cavendish was a philosopher who lived during the 17th century. During this era, women had been seen as inferior to men in society and were visibly treated as so. Cavendish was born into a royal family in Europe during the beginning age of the Enlightenment. Having been raised in an intellectually rich family allowed her to follow in the footsteps of her older siblings. As she was raised in an aristocratic family she eventually broke out to follow her passion for writing. One of the big stepping stones to her becoming part of the royal society was her joining Queen Henrietta Maria. This placed her into a new hierarchy than that of her family and she was able to meet her husband. Margaret married William Cavendish, who was a royalist general in Northern England. As much as he was known for being a general, he had also been a lover of art’s philosophical ideals and writing. As these were stepping stones, she made her mark in society through her writings as she is known for her poetry and playwrights. The main characteristic that makes Cavendish stand out amongst her peers at the Royal Society would be the fact her being a woman. Having said this, she had a number of obstacles that Walter Charleton did not have to overcome.
As a quick review of Walter Charleton just to compare. He was given a physician degree from Magdalen Hall, Oxford. After getting his degree he was the physician for King Charles I. While he was a royalist, he was appointed to be the doctor for King Charles II. During this time he was appointed to be the doctor for King Charles II. Aside from being a philosopher, Walter Charleton was also famous for investigating the contention that the Danes built Stonehenge. This is interesting because I would not think a philosopher would explore in depth a historical structure. This research into Stonehenge represents the eccentric personality of Charleton. I had the impression that modern philosophers were only drawn to matters in the realm of metaphysics and mental ideas and not historic monuments. The structure itself is enticing, but also the fact that a well-known philosopher such as himself would be drawn to figuring out how the structure was made.
It is important to note that Walter Charleton was welcomed into the early years of the Royal Society in 1663. While, on the other hand, though still early, Margaret Cavendish was the first to be a part of the Royal Society in 1667. Considering the social structure that concerned the roles of women compared to that of men in this era, it was unusual for Cavendish to be in a position of power and be granted permission into this group. Not only being a woman but also being married meant that she would actually lose her rights. Rights as in property as well as it could refer to rights to live a life she wants. With this going on in the 17th Century, Cavendish was also looked down upon at times in the Royal Society according to some scholars. Her ideas did not hold strong contention simply because she was a woman with the freedom of mind she is being given. Walter Charleton did not have this struggle of being doubted while being part of the royal society. It is interesting to see the dichotomy between two people who existed within the same era and how they were treated within society which affected their life experiences. While they had similar interests, the difference in their gender made it harder for Margaret to get her points across.
Walter Charleton being a man even had the freedom to research any ideas, for example, the building of Stonehenge. He brought up a completely different point of view that had not been brought up before and not be questioned but rather applauded. There were people at the time that disagreed with him, certainly. Yet, many listened to his idea of Stonehenge was built. By being a man in this society, he was able to be more outlandish with his ideas than Margaret Cavendish could ever attempt and suffer minimal consequences like that of ridicule. If Margaret Cavendish would have been even attempted to research how Stonehenge was built, people would have been less open to the brand-new idea that Stonehenge was built by the Danes. In similarity that they were both eccentric thinkers for their time, the harsh difference is how easily they are respected for their ideas. Margaret Cavendish’s contributions to the ideals of natural philosophy have been unfairly contended as her ideas have either not been accepted or even ignored simply due to the fact of her being a woman at the time. This raises the question of what other intelligent women had been silenced by society at the time. Men have held back the opportunity for further social progress in our society by not treating women as equals, thus putting the entire society at a disadvantage.
Works Cited
“Margaret Cavendish.” History Matters: Celebrating Women’s Plays of the Past, www.historymatterscelebratingwomensplaysofthepast.org/playwrights/view/Margaret-Cavendish.
Link.Springer.com. “Annotated Bibliography of the Works of Walter Charleton.” SpringerLink, Springer, 2008, link.springer.com/content/pdf/bbm:978-1-4020-3378-0/1.