Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

Lady Mary Montagu is an excellent role model for all of us in The Secret Society of English Gentlewomen. A woman of class and proper upbringing, she is also one of the revolutionary women changing the face of literature and the way women relate to societies, their husbands, and each other. As you may have noticed, working to build a stronger female community implies that one adapt some of the more revolutionary feminist ideas. While this may seem a trifle unnerving, in order to be able to form closer female bonds and friendships, we must first become educated, literate, and liberated from out domestic prisons.

Lady Mary Montagu is the embodiment of such ideas. With a strong education, and her impressive resume of literary works, she has gained the admiration of men and women nationwide. As we mentioned earlier, she embraces feminist ideas in order to help promote a female community in Britain. She is an outspoken advocate of female liberation [41] and education [42], and even exposes the double sexual standard that women must endure. [43]Like all women working for a stronger female community, she realizes that one must first work for women's education and liberation.

At the same time that she is writing and campaigning for all of us, Lady Montagu also manages to maintain her social image and status. While women have previously been absent from the social scene, she has gained the access that has denied to so many others. For this reason, she has become our representative to men and the rest of society, and sets an important precedent for all of us. So far, her example has been exemplary. At the infamous Bluestockings parties, she has been one of the first women to converse with men (men of the well known and respected Literary Club, none the less) about intellectual issues. For those of you who have never heard of the Bluestockings, they are a group that funds women writers and promotes their entrance into society.[44] They provide means for this entrance by holding parties, which "[create] an atmosphere in which men could appreciate women's society in a nonsexual way and demonstrated that women could sustain the interest of intelligent men without the aid of cards or dancing."[45]

One important thing to remember about Montagu, however, is that at times she can appear to be contradictory. Since she is a Gentlewomen, she is particularly attuned to the society's ideas of propriety. Misogynists attack her for her intelligence and outspoken character, which has sometimes led her writing to become apologetic and cautious. [46]Ladies, please remember that although she is an important figure to us, she is also human, and these actions must not condemn all the good she has done. The contradictory tones in her writing must not impede us in our struggle, and we must remind our selves that our cause is not invalid. It is only the pressure of men, who want us to remain isolated and illiterate in the domestic sphere, that she is bending to.

 

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