Mary Forster (c. 1620–1687) was an English

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

campaigner. She wrote a preface to the 1671 edition of ''Guide to the Blind'', which had been written by her husband, Thomas Forster (died 1660).Virginia Blain, Patricia Clements and Isobel Grundy, eds, ''The Feminist Companion to Literature in English. Women Writers from the Middle Ages to the Present'' (London: Batsford, 1990), p. 388.

A female approach

Mary Forster also composed an address, "To the Reader", which accompanied a petition to the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...

presented on 20 May 1659, expressing opposition by over 7000 women to "the oppression of

Tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more r ...

s" levied by the established church. To justify a then unusual political intervention by a woman in the form of a parliamentary petition, Forster states that it was God's way to employ "weak means to bring to pass his mighty work." She gives testimony in ''Piety Promoted'' (1686) on behalf of

Anne Whitehead Anne Whitehead or Anne Downer; Anne Greenwell (c. 1624 – 28 July 1686) was an English Quaker organizer, preacher and writer. She underwent severe distraints for her beliefs. Life and work Whitehead was born in Charlbury in about 1624 to Thom ...

, who is thought to have been the first woman preacher among the Quakers in 1655. As one of five signatories to ''A Living Testimony from... Our Faithful Women's Meeting'' (1685) she argues, "We are not to put our Candles under a Bushel, nor to hide our Talents in a Napkin," having gained wisdom of God about "what will do in Families" as "Mothers of Children, and Antient Women in Our Families". However, Mary Forster still sees the

Protofeminist Protofeminism is a concept that anticipates modern feminism in eras when the feminist concept as such was still unknown. This refers particularly to times before the 20th century, although the precise usage is disputed, as 18th-century feminism ...

protests of women as secondary reinforcement to the work of men. She justifies their tithes protest as auxiliary, but notes it is compatible with the actions of the Quaker "Brethren".

Persecution

Her main issue in ''Some Seasonable Considerations'' (1684) is the continuing persecution of the Quakers.Christopher Densmore and Barbara Addison, ''Quaker History'', Vol. 101, No. 1 (Spring 2012), pp. 39–46.

Private life

Very little else is known of her private life. Mary Forster died in 1687.

References

{{Authority control 1687 deaths 17th-century Quakers English Quakers Quaker writers 17th-century English women writers 17th-century English writers