Mary Astell is often credited as the first English feminist due to her writings that questioned the gender politics of the late 17th and early 18th century. For its time, Astell's writing was revolutionary. She examined the nature of gender bias in a way that overturned common conceptions of gender and marriage and supported female autonomy and equal educational opportunities. In A Serious Proposal to the Ladies, Astell explores the role of custom in the perpetuation of female subjugation and argues that it would be very beneficial for women to ignore the custom of privileging the physical body over the mind in exchange for a focus on mental and spiritual development. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Astell writes about the importance of female thinking and firmly believes that women should focus on expanding their minds rather than obsessing over their bodies. In Some Reflections on Marriage, Astell continues her early feminist examination of gender politics. Astell examines the marriage customs of the time period and subverts the idea that a woman's only true purpose is to marry and have children. The rigidly gender-biased climate in which Astell lived made her writings seem radical at the time, but modern feminist critics might recognize that Astell's version of feminism was particularly conservative compared to modern feminism. Although Astell was very supportive of a certain degree of female autonomy, her writings demonstrate a clear influence of the overbearing patriarchal views of her environment which weaken her position as a feminist from modern perspectives. Some aspects of Astell's argument about gender demonstrate incredibly advanced thinking for the 17th and 18th centuries. In A Serious Proposal to the Ladies, Astell blames social mores for the subjugation of women and women's acceptance of their submissive roles. She argues that society's emphasis on beauty and the physical self forces women to ignore their spiritual selves. Astell writes, “It is custom, then, that tyrannical custom, which is the great motive of all those irrational choices which we daily see made in the world, so contrary to our present interest and pleasure, as well as to our future” (356). Astell's exploration of the origins of gender bias is very much in line with modern feminist ideology. There is still a modern belief that social mores, such as the sexual objectification of women, continue to influence the perception of femininity and the role of women in society. In Feminist Interpretations of Mary Astell, Alice Sowaal and Penny A. Weiss note the contemporary ideology of Astell's statements. They write: Recent scholars have highlighted the modern feminist sentiment in these words. […] Astell suggests that women are at a disadvantage compared to men – or that they have a certain “inability” by virtue of their femininity – but that their inability is a social construct rather than the product of nature or biology. (Sowaal and Weiss) Astell's logic in A Serious Proposal to the Ladies seems strongly feminist in its defense of women and their capabilities. Like modern feminists, Astell recognizes the role that social norms play in a woman's ability to be considered equal. In writing A Serious Proposal to the Ladies, Astell did not necessarily intend to be an advocate of radical equality for women. Astell, a supporter of the Church of England, only wishedencourage women to seek the same understanding as men so that they could understand their religion on a deeper and more spiritual level. Astell “argued that reason instills divinity in human beings” (John 31). Her desires were to bring women closer to their spirituality, but this implies that she believed that women were, in fact, not then capable of using reason on their own. By modern feminist standards, it could be argued that Astell was slightly misogynistic in her perception of women as vile and currently incapable of critical thinking. Modern feminists may recognize that, although Astell appears to be in favor of some form of equality, his ideology is based on patriarchal assumptions of women. Astell writes, “By habitual inadvertence we render ourselves incapable of any serious and ameliorative thought, until our very minds become as light and frothy as those things with which they are conversant” (356). This ideology is inadvertently influenced by patriarchal views. Although Astell intends to improve women with her writing, it can be seen that her perception of women was very much influenced by the social norms of the time period. For Astell to believe that women need improvement, she is acknowledging the belief that women are, as patriarchal ideals suggest, insufficient in their current form and have something to improve upon. It presents women as almost oblivious and indifferent to their proposed flaws. This notion can be seen as a reinforcement of the empty-headed female stereotype of Astell's time and today. Astell's “proto-feminism,” as defined by William Kolbrener in Mary Astell: Reason, Gender, Faith, was certainly much more accommodating of the existing idea that women were inferior or imperfect, whether through inherent corruption or for social influence, compared to modern people. feminism allows it (193). In fact, Astell's feminism is so markedly different from modern feminism that it needs a new word to describe it. “Protofeminism” describes Astell's ideology perfectly. Although Astell produced feminist concepts, they were truly conservative by today's standards. Astell's staunchly conservative religious and political views were at odds with all of her feminist ideals, and this weakens her position as a feminist, at least from a modern perspective. as well as men to enter upon the professions, and to take part in the public part of the nation” (Kinnaird 64). Astell's concerns in A Serious Proposal were largely religious and not necessarily advocating for women's rights as a whole. In fact, she wants her readers to recognize that she isn't speaking out too much in favor of women's equality. She writes: “Let us not pretend that women should teach in the church, or usurp authority where they are not permitted; only allow us to understand our duty” (361). She was more interested in women's relationship with God than women's role in society when exploring the idea of ​​female autonomy, and explicitly states that she wishes to change women's role in society. Rather, he suggests that women have a false piety and offers them advice on how to improve their spirituality. Astell, by the nature of the work itself, criticizes women in a way that is incongruent with modern feminism. Her implication that women are incapable of understanding religion because they are repressed by banal customs casts a negative light on female will and reinforces patriarchal stereotypes of women. In Reflections on Marriage, Astell asserts a firmer basis for future feminist ideals in her examination of a gender politics in