An Examination Of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's Contribution To The Emerging Feminist Movement Of The Eighteenth Century

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was born May 26, 1689 and died August 21,1762. She was a proponent of educational reforms for women, an advocate for fair divorce laws, and a spokeswoman for certain political causes. She wrote many letters, essays, and poems. She wrote letters to a wide range of friends and acquaintances, and she circulated essays and poems among her friends.This paper examines these writings and Lady Mary's life-style and society in order to gain better understanding of her personality and to show her viewpoints on the problems which women faced in her society. The paper shows that her points of view are part of her contribution to the feminist movement which some say emerged in the eighteenth century.