 Heavily influenced by Mary Astell, Lady Mary Chudleigh was one of the first Englishwomen to recognize that as a social group, women faced unique challenges.She wrote overtly feminist works and argued strongly for marriage reform and women's education, believing women should cultivate reason, virtue and stoic integrity, despite living in a world full of misogyny.She also wrote significant poems in the retirement tradition, combining Platonic and Christian contemplation as a retreat from the vanities of life.