It’s 1750, and you are the 12-year-old daughter of a wealthy man. At the dinner table, your father engages your brothers in lively discussions about exciting scientific discoveries.
When your father turns to you, he wants to know how your needlework is progressing or what your mother has been teaching you about running the household. But you are more interested in the big ideas he debates with your brothers. You wonder, will you ever get to look through a telescope or read Sir Isaac Newton’s book? Your cousin, whose father has different ideas, is learning Latin, the language of science. Maybe she will teach you.
For centuries, wealthy and middle-class women were considered ornaments to a fine home. Their education revolved around domestic activities, and their role was to be obedient to their husbands. During the Enlightenment, some women rebelled against that role – and they weren’t quiet about it!
