Becoming Visible: Margaret Cavendish's and Aphra Behn's New Worlds

Abstract

The telescope and microscope are two of the most recognizable and long lasting emblems of the new scientific method that emerged in seventeenth-century Europe. Their value and reliability was a topic of great debate among seventeenth-century professional and amateur scientists. Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle and Aphra Behn both offered critiques of experimental science and its reliance on enhanced observation. Their opposition can be linked to their status as women who were frustrated by the limitations placed on women’s education. Despite their informal educations, Cavendish and Behn contributed to the discourse of natural philosophy in many ways, including the creation of  imaginative prose works which satirize the male-dominated profession while simultaneously demonstrating their desire to be full participants in the project of natural  philosophy.