Education


Education



The education of women in the 18th century was geared towards the attainment of skills to catch and keep a husband. This was a sensible approach if one believed that a woman must have a man to take care of, and one could rely on men to adequately support the women in their care. Her own life had given Mary considerable evidence to the contrary.

At an early point in life, Mary realized that women were dependent upon men, not because they were incapable of learning to support themselves, but because they were not taught to do so. At the age of nine, Mary made the acquaintance of a clergyman who encouraged her education. With that initial encouragement, Mary found a life's ambition.

Mary was "largely self-taught and not classically trained" (2) but this did not stop her from becoming a renowned author and advocate of education for all.

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