THE PHILOSOPHER Margaret Cavendish

Oil portrait of Margaret and William Cavendish. She wears an elaborate white and gold off-the shoulder gown, blonde curls on the sides of her head, and a black robbon tied around each wrist. He wears a black adn gold velved tunic and bright blue hose, his long brown hair parted in the center and curling to his shoulders. He extends his right hand out as if directing the viewers attention to the left of the image, and holds her right arm in his loosely cupped left hand. A small dog is in the left bottom corner of the portrait. — Margaret and William Cavendish
Duchess and Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
attributed to Gonzales Coques

Four hundred years ago, Margaret Cavendish dared to contemplate the biggest philosophical questions of her day. Brilliant and bold, she wrote 21 books despite being dismissed or mocked by the almost entirely male intellectual community. A famously eccentric dresser, she and her husband hosted high-society parties at their fantastical castle, but she was also paralyzed by bashfulness and dreaded talking to people. She hoped that her intellectual works would lead to eternal fame, but she remained quite ignored until recent scholars dug her books out of the shadows.

Our guest Dr. Rachel Robison-Greene is the co-editor of eleven books on pop-culture and philosophy and teaches philosophy at Weber State University.

Learn more about Margaret Cavendish, view some of her manuscripts, and find many more resources at the Digital Cavendish Project. Or you can view a BBC Documentary on Bolsover Castle, Margaret and William Cavendish’s favorite home.

NEW: Kat Wilson, one of Katie’s students, wrote and recorded an original song about Margaret Cavendish’s life, Panpsychism, and we loved it so much we had to share it.

Oil portrait of Margaret Cavendish. She wears an elaborate blue gown, tight at the waist with large hooped skirt, a fur and burgundy velvet cape cascading from the gown's wide shoulders. Her hair is in brown ringlets and she wears an unusual white circular cap that is possibly made of feathers. — Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle

Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle

Funerary statue of Margaret Cavendish from her book. — Portrait of Margaret Cavendish from the title page to one of her works

William Cavendish, portrait in oil. He wears black velvet, a lacy wide white collar, and his goatee beard is pointed and his hair is dark. He smiles slightly, staring directly at the viewer. — William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle

A large yellow-stone castle stands atop a hill with green fields in front and blue sky behind. — Bolsover Castle, home of Margaret and William Cavendish

A large elaborate stone building stands in front of a green and a circular cobbled road. — The “Little Castle” at Bolsover
photo by Lynne Glazzard

An elaborately painted ceiling in Baroque style with musicians and musical instruments painted all throughout the top portion of the room. — The “Heaven Room” at Bolsover castle, with ceiling murals dedicated to a celebration of music in Christian afterlife traditions

And etching of the castle and grounds of the court of Queen Henrietta Maria. — Henrietta Maria’s court in exile was based at St-Germain-en-Laye, shown here c.1660 in an etching by Israel Silvestre.

The title page to Margaret Cavendish's book The Blazing World. It credits authorship to Princesse the Duchess of Newcastle. — Title page to The Blazing World

Title page of Poems and Fancies by Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle — Poems and Fancies

Title page of Modest Reflections by Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle — Modest Reflections Upon Natural Philosophy

Title page of Grounds of Natural Philosophy by Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle — Grounds of Natural Philosophy

Dr. Rachel Robison-Greene earned her PhD from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She works in metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. She teaches philosophy at Weber State University. She has co-edited eleven books on pop-culture and philosophy and is currently working on a solo edited collection on philosophy in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.

Music featured in this episode included

“Deus in Adjutorium” by Monteverde, performed by Solis Camerata with soloist Timothy Leffler

Kyrie: Misse de Minuit pour Nöel by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, performed by Solis Camerata with soloists Mandy Clegg, Tommy Strawser, Sam Kreidenweis, Erik Gustafson, Kerry Ginger, Joel Wolcott, and Carol Jennings

“Orfeo” by Monteverde, performed by Solis Camerata

“Canarios” by Gaspar Sanz, performed by Marc Nelson

“Mistress Nichols’ Almain” by John Dowland, performed by Marc Nelson