THE LETTERS OF DOROTHY MOORE-DURY: DIVINE CALLINGS, COVENANTS, AND THE SEARCH FOR WOMEN’S VOCATION IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY ENGLAND

Abstract

This thesis builds on the backs of studies that have moved beyond a secular definition of feminism by emphasizing the significance of religion in women’s discussions of gender roles throughout the seventeenth century. Between 1640 and 1661, Anglo-Irish intellectual Dorothy Moore-Dury used the Protestant doctrine of vocation to argue that women had a divine calling to serve the public in areas beyond the traditional roles of wives and mothers. This thesis analyzes Dorothy’s letters and publications from others within her circle and identifies vocation as the heart of her writings and the principle by which Dorothy directed her life. Through her relationship with irenicist preacher John Dury, Dorothy demonstrated that marriage could present more opportunities for women when interpreted through a vision of vocation. John and Dorothy’s involvement in the Hartlib Circle makes this thesis a pertinent contribution to discussions of proto-feminism and women’s agency within seventeenth-century intellectual societies.