Mary Astell's Views on Marriage

In her essay "Some Reflections upon Marriage," Mary Astell's views on marriage seem very progressive for her time.  She writes “what poor woman is ever taught that she should have a higher design than to get her a husband?” (2423).  Most women during this time believed that getting a husband should be their main goal in order to be supported and have a happy life.  Astell, on the other hand, argues against this belief in saying that marriage does not automatically create a happy life if it is not done for many of the right reasons. 

                This unhappy marriage that Astell writes about was likely very common during this time period.  In her “Answer to Some Objections to Reflections upon Marriage,” Astell states that many believed that her work was “destructive to the government” (3019).  She goes on to state that this government is run entirely by men and that women are treated unfairly in it.  She writes that “if all men are born free, how is it that all women are born slaves?” (3020). Women during this time were subjected to the interests and desires of men without having much of a say of their own in how things were done.  She questions “why is slavery so much condened and strove against in one case and so highly applauded and held so necessary and so sacred in another?” (3020).

Mary Astell’s idea of marriage seems as if it could directly relate to the family seen in William Hogarth’s “Marriage A’la Mode.”  In these paintings, it is clear that the couple married simply for financial reasons. As Astell states, “…an estate…should not be the main, much less the only consideration; for happiness does not depend on wealth” (2421).  This couple married purely for financial reasons and; therefore, do not achieve happiness.