Judith Drake
Encyclopedia
Judith Drake was an English intellectual and author who was active in the last decade of the 17th century. She was part of a circle of intellectuals, authors, and philosophers which included Mary Astell
, Lady Mary Chudleigh
, Elizabeth Thomas
, Elizabeth Elstob
, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
, and John Norris. Almost nothing besides her friendship with this intellectual group is known about her personal life. She is remembered in the field of feminist literature
for her 1696 essay, An Essay in Defence of the Female Sex.
, who wrote her A Book of Showings around the year 1400. Three hundred years later, only a handful of female authors had joined her. When Judith Drake and the other intellectuals of her circle began writing, they were still an incredible minority and subject to much nay saying. In England, the Restoration
period just after the English Civil War
brought a time of political, scientific, and literary innovation. The civil war had brought about, among other things, the loosening of laws regarding the censorship of printed books. A few women took this opportunity to publish, many pointing out another area of society that needed attention during this time of re-thinking: gender relationships. Because of their efforts as well as the rise in female literacy, the literary world entered into the debate about women.
, a contemporary of Drake and author of A Serious Proposal to the Ladies and other works. However, authorship is now decidedly attributed to Drake. Her name is listed in a Curll catalogue issued after 1741 as the author, and the second edition of the Essay included a poem dedicated to the author by James Drake.
The Essay is written in the form of a letter to a female friend. It purports to be inspired by a conversation between several gentlemen and ladies. Drake first constructed the rationalist framework used at that time to explain women's intellectual inferiority, especially using John Locke
's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
. She then proceeded to show that this rationale was outdated, and in this modern time, women would value from a greater knowledge. Only two works using this kind of rationalist argument had been used for a feminist argument before, and only one of those was in English. Besides her rational arguments, Drake also wrote sketches of various stereotypes among men: the Pedant, the Country Squire, the News-monger, the Bully, the City-Critick, and the Beau. She uses these pictures to remind her readers that men, also, had follies.
Drake's final argument involves the "new science" of the day. She spoke with physicians, who told her from their studies of anatomy and the workings of the human body that there was no physical difference between men and women in any part of the body that related to or influenced the mind. Drake also gave the example from nature of male and female animals that showed equal wisdom in their actions. From studying the differences of behavior between classes, she added that socioeconomic level was more likely to make a difference in intelligence between two people than was gender. A man and a woman from the same background are more similar in ability that two men, one a wealthy gentleman and the other a poor farmer. From her conclusions about the capacity of the female intellect, Drake suggests that maybe women were created the weaker vessel because they are meant to think, while stronger men are meant for action. Why could women not do such jobs as accounting, that involved mental capacity and not physical labor? With her combination of Tory
ideas and Lockean
philosophy, Drake formed an early Enlightenment vision of social roles in which women could be of help in settling the uncertain society of the day.
Many of Drake’s thoughts are similar to other feminist writers of time. For example, Drake says in the Essay, "Women, like our Negroes in our western plantations, are born slaves, and live prisoners all their lives," a sentiment that was later echoed by Astell
and Chudleigh
. Within a marriage, a woman’s role was often little more than a servant to her husband and his interests. Overall, her work joins the women’s primary concern of the time: education.
Although Drake was radical, she was not incautious. She showed herself in the Essay to be witty and quotable. She was not, however, as can be expected in the climate in which she wrote, without critics. When she was said to have gone too far and to be too hot-tempered, she replied that the men just feared the competition of women. It is a sign of her influence that she was attacked by Swift
, Centlivre
, and Cibber
. No other works by Drake are known to survive; however, it is possible than she might have published, as many women did, under other pseudonyms.
Mary Astell
Mary Astell was an English feminist writer and rhetorician. Her advocacy of equal educational opportunities for women has earned her the title "the first English feminist."-Life and career:...
, Lady Mary Chudleigh
Lady Mary Chudleigh
Mary Chudleigh was part of an intellectual circle that included Mary Astell, Elizabeth Thomas, Judith Drake, Elizabeth Elstob, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, and John Norris...
, Elizabeth Thomas
Elizabeth Thomas
Elizabeth Thomas may refer to:*Elizabeth Thomas , British poet*Elizabeth Thomas , British novelist and poet*Elizabeth Thomas , American Egyptologist*Betty Thomas, American actress...
, Elizabeth Elstob
Elizabeth Elstob
Elizabeth Elstob , the 'Saxon Nymph,' was born and brought up in the Quayside area of Newcastle upon Tyne, and, like Mary Astell of Newcastle, is nowadays regarded as one of the first English feminists...
, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
The Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was an English aristocrat and writer. Montagu is today chiefly remembered for her letters, particularly her letters from Turkey, as wife to the British ambassador, which have been described by Billie Melman as “the very first example of a secular work by a woman about...
, and John Norris. Almost nothing besides her friendship with this intellectual group is known about her personal life. She is remembered in the field of feminist literature
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
for her 1696 essay, An Essay in Defence of the Female Sex.
Women intellectuals at the end of the 17th century
One of the first records of a woman writing in English is Julian of NorwichJulian of Norwich
Julian of Norwich is regarded as one of the most important English mystics. She is venerated in the Anglican and Lutheran churches, but has never been canonized, or officially beatified, by the Catholic Church, probably because so little is known of her life aside from her writings, including the...
, who wrote her A Book of Showings around the year 1400. Three hundred years later, only a handful of female authors had joined her. When Judith Drake and the other intellectuals of her circle began writing, they were still an incredible minority and subject to much nay saying. In England, the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
period just after the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
brought a time of political, scientific, and literary innovation. The civil war had brought about, among other things, the loosening of laws regarding the censorship of printed books. A few women took this opportunity to publish, many pointing out another area of society that needed attention during this time of re-thinking: gender relationships. Because of their efforts as well as the rise in female literacy, the literary world entered into the debate about women.
An Essay in Defense of the Female Sex
The full name under which the Essay was first published is An Essay in Defence of the Female Sex, In Which are Inserted the Characters of a Pendant, a Squire, a Beau, a Vertuoso, a Poetaster, a City-Critick, &C., in a letter to a lady. Published in London by Roper and E[lizabeth] Wilkinson in 1696, the author was listed only as "a Lady." For many years, the work was attributed to Mary AstellMary Astell
Mary Astell was an English feminist writer and rhetorician. Her advocacy of equal educational opportunities for women has earned her the title "the first English feminist."-Life and career:...
, a contemporary of Drake and author of A Serious Proposal to the Ladies and other works. However, authorship is now decidedly attributed to Drake. Her name is listed in a Curll catalogue issued after 1741 as the author, and the second edition of the Essay included a poem dedicated to the author by James Drake.
The Essay is written in the form of a letter to a female friend. It purports to be inspired by a conversation between several gentlemen and ladies. Drake first constructed the rationalist framework used at that time to explain women's intellectual inferiority, especially using John Locke
John Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
First appearing in 1690 with the printed title An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke concerns the foundation of human knowledge and understanding. He describes the mind at birth as a blank slate filled later through experience...
. She then proceeded to show that this rationale was outdated, and in this modern time, women would value from a greater knowledge. Only two works using this kind of rationalist argument had been used for a feminist argument before, and only one of those was in English. Besides her rational arguments, Drake also wrote sketches of various stereotypes among men: the Pedant, the Country Squire, the News-monger, the Bully, the City-Critick, and the Beau. She uses these pictures to remind her readers that men, also, had follies.
Drake's final argument involves the "new science" of the day. She spoke with physicians, who told her from their studies of anatomy and the workings of the human body that there was no physical difference between men and women in any part of the body that related to or influenced the mind. Drake also gave the example from nature of male and female animals that showed equal wisdom in their actions. From studying the differences of behavior between classes, she added that socioeconomic level was more likely to make a difference in intelligence between two people than was gender. A man and a woman from the same background are more similar in ability that two men, one a wealthy gentleman and the other a poor farmer. From her conclusions about the capacity of the female intellect, Drake suggests that maybe women were created the weaker vessel because they are meant to think, while stronger men are meant for action. Why could women not do such jobs as accounting, that involved mental capacity and not physical labor? With her combination of Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
ideas and Lockean
John Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
philosophy, Drake formed an early Enlightenment vision of social roles in which women could be of help in settling the uncertain society of the day.
Many of Drake’s thoughts are similar to other feminist writers of time. For example, Drake says in the Essay, "Women, like our Negroes in our western plantations, are born slaves, and live prisoners all their lives," a sentiment that was later echoed by Astell
Mary Astell
Mary Astell was an English feminist writer and rhetorician. Her advocacy of equal educational opportunities for women has earned her the title "the first English feminist."-Life and career:...
and Chudleigh
Lady Mary Chudleigh
Mary Chudleigh was part of an intellectual circle that included Mary Astell, Elizabeth Thomas, Judith Drake, Elizabeth Elstob, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, and John Norris...
. Within a marriage, a woman’s role was often little more than a servant to her husband and his interests. Overall, her work joins the women’s primary concern of the time: education.
Although Drake was radical, she was not incautious. She showed herself in the Essay to be witty and quotable. She was not, however, as can be expected in the climate in which she wrote, without critics. When she was said to have gone too far and to be too hot-tempered, she replied that the men just feared the competition of women. It is a sign of her influence that she was attacked by Swift
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
, Centlivre
Susanna Centlivre
Susanna Centlivre born Susanna Freeman, also known professionally as Susanna Carroll, was an English poet, actress and one of the premier dramatists of the 18th century. During her long career at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, she became known as the Second Woman of the English Stage after Aphra Behn...
, and Cibber
Colley Cibber
Colley Cibber was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber describes his life in a personal, anecdotal and even rambling style...
. No other works by Drake are known to survive; however, it is possible than she might have published, as many women did, under other pseudonyms.