How is Margret circumscribed by the period in which she lives?

 

Margret Cavendish was born in early 17th-century London when arguably the most impactful societal circumstance was the lack of access to education.  During this period, women’s education was heavily devalued and didn’t progress beyond primary school, if that.  Rather, females were educated to be proper wives, and their value centered on bearing children.  Margret rebels against this as she teaches herself to read and write, to a certain extent, from the poetry of Shakespeare and Byron while never receiving proper grammar education.  This results in her thoughts and writing consisting of improper language which might not make sense, but the message is still conveyed.  For example, she wrote “Mother liv’d to see the ruin of her childrin in which was her ruin and died” (Dutton 42).  While the grammar isn’t perfect, Margret explains the despair her mother had from her children’s death that ultimately led to her own.  This raises the question of how intelligent Margret is because, on one hand, she isn’t educated according to societal terms, however, it takes a lot of dedication and intelligence to teach oneself how to read and write.  Furthermore, she can explain difficult emotions in a simple yet fulfilling way, a skill that doesn’t come without much knowledge and understanding.  Due to this, I can argue that Margret is intelligent despite her level of education to be considered “knowledgeable” doesn’t match the norm.

Margret showcases her ability to write and explain difficult feelings as she describes another key aspect that limits her social mobility: the political denial of power that enrages Margret.  She admires Queen Henriette Maria for this reason because she commanded “an army from Bridlington to Oxford, straddling her horse like Alexander and eating with the men on the field”, along with Christina, the Queen of Sweden, where she “admired the queen’s gold helmet and cape, and her hand that rested lightly on the hilt of her handsome sword” (19 & 79).  Margret envies their ability to hold power and imagines being like them as she daydreams that she is married to a general who would die in battle and “in a silver coat to [her] waist, with a broad sword in [her] hand, [she] would have no choice but to rally his troops and lead them onto the field” (21).  Her simple yet descriptive language illustrates the inner turmoil she feels as a powerless woman and highlights it’s something women can only achieve in their dreams.  Additionally, she uses historical examples and writes about the powerful Queens poetically, not only to convey their abnormality but also to illustrate how deeply they went against societal norms, something Margret wishes she could do and ultimately does do in some ways.  Overall, both limitations highlight that knowledge and power were reserved for men and it wasn’t easily achievable for the majority of females.

Due to her radical disapproval of society's limitations, she published under her true name rather than a pseudonym, wore revealing clothing to the theater, and spoke her mind to the men she was near.  This resulted in her being known as “Mad Madge” and she was “everywhere that season”, to the point the King referred to her as a celebrity (151).  I think this highlights exceptionally well the small bits of control she took over her own life that caused a societal uproar because she was doing “masculine” things.  However, I don’t think Margret wanted to be seen as a man during this because she never pretends to be one to gain social power, rather she demonstrates women can do the same things as men. 

I believe Margret Cavendish wanted to be seen as an intellectual and powerful woman rather than a delicate wallflower; furthermore, she wished to redefine what it meant to be a woman in her society and give them the power they so lacked.