The Blazing World

During Cavendish’s lifetime, England went through many significant transformations, which deeply informed her work. When King Charles I ascended to the throne in 1625, he continued his father’s power struggle with Parliament. While Royalists argued that Parliament was subordinate to the king, Parliamentarians pushed for a constitutional monarchy, which divested the king of some authority. To tamp down dissent, Charles refused to let Parliament meet, imposed taxes without Parliamentary approval, and moved the Church of England closer to Catholicism.

Conflict came to a head in August 1642. A rebellion in Scotland led to the Scottish army invading England in a bid for independence. In response, Charles reconvened Parliament, which quickly limited Charles’s powers. Queen Henrietta Maria and her ladies-in-waiting, including Cavendish, fled to France in 1644. In June 1646, the Parliamentarians took Charles into custody, ending the First English Civil War. Charles refused to negotiate concessions, leading the Parliamentarians to commence the brutal campaign of the Second English Civil War in 1648, which ended when Charles was put on trial, sentenced to death for high treason, and beheaded in 1649.

After further fighting forced Charles’s son Charles II into exile, Parliamentarian leader Oliver Cromwell declared himself Lord Protector and ruled as a dictator until he was deposed for tyrannical overreach. Parliament restored Charles II to power in 1660, creating a more balanced power-sharing system, though political instability continued until the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which installed the Parliament-dominated political system England has to this day.

Cavendish saw this compromise as an injustice—as a Royalist, she believed that destroying the monarchy’s power would create deep political fissures between regions and within cities. On a more personal note, the wars destroyed her husband’s estate. The Blazing World’s uncomplicated and laudatory treatment of monarchical rule and absolute power reflect these opinions and personal experiences.

The Scientific Revolution refers to the emergence of modern scientific thought during the early modern era in Europe. The beginning is typically cited as the 1543 publication of Polish mathematician and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus’s On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres; the height of the Scientific Revolution is generally regarded as the 1687 publication of English mathematician Isaac Newton’s Principia. This movement included breakthroughs in mathematics, astronomy, biology, and chemistry, which relied on new methods for scientific investigation based on observation and replicable experimentation; the understanding of the universe as a whole developed rapidly during this period. In London, the Royal Society—an organization tasked specifically with increasing knowledge—was founded in 1663 under the patronage of King Charles II and was inspired by the ideals of English philosopher Sir Francis Bacon, who championed empiricism and the scientific method.

Women’s participation in the Scientific Revolution has been reconsidered alongside the rise of modern feminist theory. While excluded from participating in mainstream scientific activities, women of leisure contributed to the conversation obliquely. Cavendish was unique in trying to engage with mainstream science through her visit to the Royal Society and her criticism of some of its scientists. Her deep interest in scientific advancement is a key thread running through The Blazing World.