Mary Astell on Flattery and Self-Esteem

The contemporary relevance of Mary Astell’s remarks on flattery is attested. While in their recent analysis of flattery Yuval Eylon and David Heyd have claimed that flattery essentially is directed from a person of lower hierarchical standing to a person of higher hierarchical standing, Astell’s analysis of flattery in gender relations indicates an interesting sense in which the reverse can be true: As she makes clear, the deception involved in male flattery is not always a misrepresentation of the personal qualities of the female flatteree; it may also be an accurate representation of personal qualities that the male flatterer values although they are detrimental for the female flatteree. Such ‘definitional’ flattery plays a crucial role in Astell’s analysis of how female gender roles can be understood as the outcome of male manipulation.