<P> Astell died in 1731, a few months after a mastectomy to remove a cancerous right breast . In her last days, she refused to see any of her acquaintances and stayed in a room with her coffin, thinking only of God; she was buried in the churchyard of Chelsea Church in London . </P> <P> Astell is remembered for her ability to debate freely with both contemporary men and women, and particularly for her groundbreaking methods of negotiating the position of women in society by engaging in philosophical debate (Descartes was a particular influence) rather than basing her arguments in historical evidence as had previously been attempted . Descartes' theory of dualism, a separate mind and body, allowed Astell to promote the idea that women as well as men had the ability to reason, and subsequently they should not be treated so poorly: "If all Men are born Free, why are all Women born Slaves?" </P> <P> All of Mary Astell's works were published anonymously . Astell's two best known books, A Serious Proposal to the Ladies, for the Advancement of Their True and Greatest Interest (1694) and A Serious Proposal, Part II (1697), outline her plan to establish a new type of institution for women to assist in providing women with both religious and secular education . She suggests extending women's career options beyond mother and nun . Astell wanted all women to have the same opportunity as men to spend eternity in heaven with God, and she believed that for this they needed to be educated and to understand their experiences . The' nunnery' style education she proposed would enable women to live in a protected environment, without the influences of the external patriarchal society . </P> <P> Her proposal was never adopted because critics said it seemed "too Catholic" for the English . Later her ideas about women were satirized in The Tatler by the writer Jonathan Swift . While the writer Daniel Defoe admired the first part of Astell's proposal, he believed that her recommendations were "impracticable ." However, Patricia Springborg notes that Defoe's own recommendation for an academy for women as detailed in his Essay Upon Projects did not significantly differ from Astell's original proposal . Despite this, she was still an intellectual force in London's educated classes . </P>

Mary astell a serious proposal to the ladies