Christ in Anne Conway’s Principia (1690): Metaphysics, Syncretism, and Female Imitatio Christi

Abstract This article examines the representation and function of Christ in Anne Conway’s only treatise, The Principles of the Most Ancient and Modern Philosophy, published posthumously in 1690. Christ plays a prominent role in Conway’s philosophical system as he is both a medium between God and the creatures in the ontological hierarchy, and the instrument that will make possible the conversion of Jews and Muslims to the Christian religion. Conway draws upon Quakerism and the Lurianic Kabbalah to build a Christocentric metaphysics that also aims to make sense of pain – Conway’s own physical pain as well as the existence of evil in the world. Finally, the article enquires into Conway’s personal relationship with Christ. As a suffering woman, she might be expected to feel a closer connection with the human Christ, following the example of medieval female mystics, but Conway’s philosophy actually presents a metaphysical, genderless Christ, which can paradoxically be interpreted as a way of reintroducing women into Christianity.