Margaret Askew married Judge Thomas Fell in 1632 and bore nine children. Throughout her marriage, this relation of the Protestant martyr Anne Askew, sought new ways to God. In 1652 after meeting with the founder of Quakerism George Fox, she joined the Quaker religion. From her earliest affiliation with the religion, the Fell's opened their homes to the Society of Friends, although Judge Fell never identified himself with the Society of Friends. Like many men throughout history who did not overtly support a feminist agenda, he did what he could to provide the resources his wife needed to further her cause and to protect his wife and her movement. When he died in 1658, Margaret Fell's political protection was gone.

      In 1669, eleven years after the death of her husband, Margaret Askew Fell married George Fox, a man ten years younger than Margaret. Most historians credit George Fox with founding Quakerism, but it was Margaret Fox who contributed her fortune and administered the finances of the nascent church, publicly defended the religion, visited meetings, and took care of correspondence. In addition to being a missionary, preacher, and teacher, Margaret wrote at least sixteen books and twenty-seven pamphlets discussing and defending her religion.

      Arrested, questioned, tried, convicted, and jailed for her activities, at one point, Margaret even had her property confiscated. Her property was restored to her several years later under the reign of a new monarch, Charles II. While in prison, Margaret wrote and published our eventual topic of discussion, Woman's Speaking Justified.

      A thoroughly pious woman, there is no doubt from Margaret Askew Fell Fox's writings and actions that her feminism rested upon a sincere and devout interpretation of Scripture. Wanting to take a more active role in spreading the Quaker gospel, yet precluded from doing so by the customs of the time, Fell wrote a powerful defense, based on scripture, of her right to speak in the church and about religion. It preceded by several years the writing of George Fox on the equality of men and women. Although men and women had been writing rather general proto-feminist commentaries on the entire Bible, Fell focused on the Pauline strictures against women's preaching and teaching. In one of the earliest powerful attacks on those Pauline strictures, M. Fox often used one part of scripture to support the interpretation of another part of scripture.

      Although Fell's analysis of the creation story can seem comical to the modern reader when it is taken out of context, it is a powerful argument when read as part of the whole pamphlet. After emphasizing the fundamental equality in the first creation story and summarizing the second creation story, Fell notes that Eve's punishment by God is to have enmity placed between the serpent and herself and between the serpent and her seed. She uses this last observation to attack the Pauline strictures against women's preaching and teaching in the church.

      "Whereas it hath been an Objection in the minds of many, and several times hath been objected by the Clergy, or Ministers; and others, against Women's speaking in the Church; and so consequently may be taken, that they are condemned for melding in the things of God; the ground of which Objection, is taken from the Apostles words, which he writ in his first Epistle to the Corinthians, chap 14 vers 34, 35. And also what he writ to Timothy in the Epistle; chap 2, vers 11, 12. But how far they wrong the Apostles intentions in these Scriptures, we shall show clearly when we come to them in their course and order. But first let me lay down how God himself hath manifested his Will and Mind concerning women and unto women.

      And first, when God created Man in his own Image: in the Image of God he created them, Male and Female: and God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply: And God said, Behold I have given you every Herb, &c. Gen 1: Here God joins them together in his own Image, and makes no such distinctions and differences as men do; for though they be weak, he is strong: and as he said to his Apostle, His Grace is sufficient, and his strength is made manifest in weakness, 2 Cor 12: 9. And such hath the Lord chosen, even the weak things of the world, to confound the things which are mighty; and things which are despised, hath God chosen, to bring to nought things that are, 1 Cor 1. And God hath put no such difference between the Male and Female as men would make.

      It is true, The Serpent that was more subtle than any other Beast of the Field, came unto the Woman, with his Temptations, and with a lie: his subtly discerning her to be more inclinable to hearken to him, when he said, If ye eat, your eyes shall be opened: and the woman saw that the Fruit was food to make one wise, there the temptation got into her, and she did eat, and gave to her Husband, and he did eat also, and so they were both tempted into the transgression and disobedience; and therefore God said unto Adam, when that he hid himself when he heard his voice, "Hast thou eaten of the Tree which I commanded thee thou shouldest not eat?" And Adam said, "The Woman which thou gave me, she gave me of the Tree, and I did eat." And the Lord said unto the Woman, "What is this that thou hast done?" and the Woman said, "The Serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." Here the Woman spoke the truth unto the Lord: See what the Lord saith, vers 15, after he had pronounced Sentence on the Serpent: "I will put enmity between thee and the Woman, and between thy Seed and her Seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel," Gen 3.

      Let this Word of the Lord, which was from the beginning, stop the mouths of all that oppose Women's Speaking in the Power of the Lord; for he hath put enmity between the Woman and the Serpent; and if the Seed of the Woman speak not, the Seed of the Serpent speaks; for God hath put enmity between the two Seeds, and it is manifest, that those that speak against the Woman and her Seeds Speaking, speak out of the enmity of the old Serpents Seeds; and God hath fulfilled his Word and his Promise, "When the fullness of time was come, he hath sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the Law, that we might receive the adoption of Sons." Gal 4.4.5

      Women's Speaking Justified reprinted in Moria Ferguson, First Feminists British Women Writers 1578 - 1799, U. of Indiana Press, 1985, 115-116

      A shorter version of this excerpt is found in Women's Speaking Justified reprinted in Barbara J. MacHaffie, Readings in Her Story: Women in Christian Tradition (Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 1992) p110-111

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