The Ladies' Defence, Or, a Dialogue Between Sir John Brute, Sir William Loveall, Melissa, and a Parson, is an essay in verse published by Mary Chudleigh in 1701. The piece was written in response to a wedding sermon, The Bride-Woman's Counsellor, published by the minister John Sprint in 1700. The sermon insists that women's entire duty in life is to love, honor, and be obedient to a husband.