h her on the finer points of principle well into his middle age. Wesley liked women. In fact, according to Hughes, his weakness was women (Hughes 50). He had a pattern of attracting young women in his ministry, women who were vulnerable and in need of spiritual guidance. He would shower the person with letters and attention, and then would become ill. The woman would care for him and nurse him devotedly, sometimes even moving into the house with him. Just at the point that marriage was the next obvious step, Wesley would withdraw, much to the dismay of the young maiden (Hughes 50). She would marry someone else and Wesley would pursue her again. Quarrels with new husbands were a part of his pattern. He tended to like the prettiest women in the congregations the best.
John Wesley did not have a happy marriage himself. He married Mary Vazeille, a widow, in 1751. She was well past childbearing age and had a steady income, possibly a factor in the marriage. She did not like Wesley's habit of conducting intense platonic relationships with women outside the marriage (Hughs 52). In order to get revenge she altered his writings before they were sent out. Towards the end of his 30 years' marriage with her, Wesley commented, "I still love you for your uncommon neatness" (John Wesley 2).
During Wesley's time, the women had no part in the matters of the church. According to Norwood, "from ancient times women have been the mainstay of the church. From ancient times women have been denied access to governing power in the church" (Norwood 151). One might think of Wesley's beliefs and manner towards women in the church as conservative, as well, but for his time, he was somewhat liberal. John Wesley, for the most part, did not technically allow women to preach, but he did recognize them and encourage them to be leaders in a variety of other ways (Women and
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