Defying expectations: Monitor readers share women who inspired them

When Monitor editors asked readers to identify women who challenged what society said was possible, several thought of Mary Baker Eddy.  We did, too. 

The founder of The Church of Christ, Scientist and this newspaper experienced firsthand the massive inequities that confronted 19th-century American women. None, of course, could vote. Once they married, women had little or no control over their money, their property, and even their children. 

Yet Eddy, born in 1821, rose above countless barriers – founding the Christian Science Church in 1879, publishing 17 books, and starting several religious magazines. 

“A woman to admire indeed.”“Through encouragement she persevered”“That female child is an executive.”“Unbounded by gender discrimination”“I’m going to become more like a nomad.”“Quite a career”“Defied social norms for women in the 19th century”