Tuesday 11th November | 6pm

"Enslaved" Women and Monstrous Men: Mary Astell, The Mancini Marriage and the case of Katherine Auker

A lecture by Professor Sandrine Bergès

Mary Astell (1666-1731), 'the first English feminist', was born in Newcastle, and is commemorated with a blue plaque on Newcastle cathedral.

Astell claimed that marriage is a form of slavery for women and that women are ‘in chains’. But what did she mean by it? Did she regard it as a form of republican slavery? Or did she think that women’s situation is something akin to that of actually enslaved African women (whether in England or in the Colonies).

In this talk, Professor Sandrine Bergès will investigate this question by looking at the stories of two contemporaries of Astell. The first is Hortence Mancini, Astell’s neighbour in Chelsea. Mancini’s failed marriage was the pretext for Astell’s 1700 Reflections on Marriage. Hortense Mancini had run away from a husband who was physically as well as psychologically abusive. The second is the case of Katherine Auker, a black woman who was brought to England from Barbados by Robert Rich, a planter. After torturing her, the Riches turned Auker out, specifying that she was not allowed to seek employment anywhere. After nearly starving and being thrown in gaol, Auker petitioned the court and obtained the liberty to work for whom she wished until she had to return to Barbados with the Riches. All this happened near the Tower of London, an hour's carriage ride from Astell’s Chelsea home. But Auker does not feature in Astell’s discussion of women being enslaved - nor do any other actually enslaved women.

This talk is the British Society for the History of Philosophy's 2025 Antognazza Lecture. The BSHP promotes and supports academic and public understanding of all aspects of the history of philosophy. Find out more https://bshp.org.uk/

A LIVE Lit & Phil Event | FREE

(If you would prefer to book directly over the phone, please call the Library Desk team on 0191 232 0192 and they will be happy to help)

Reflections upon Marriage | Image provided by promoter