Bradstreet talks about topics such as her relationship with her husband and children and her struggles with religion. In her poem “A Letter to Her Husband, Absent upon Public Employment,” her husband was gone and coming back soon, but whenever she looked at her children, she was reminded of him. She wished he was there with her because he is like the sun, full of warmth and kindness, and her life revolved around him; without him she would be nothing. In her poem “Before the Birth of One of Her Children,” she believed that she was going to die during childbirth, but she wasn’t the only one, because many women back then had the same fear. Also, if she passed away, she was worried that her children were going to end up with a horrible stepmother, so she frequently asked God to protect her and her children. Although Bradstreet was a woman who expressed great amounts of faith, she was often left struggling when her feelings turned to resentment, confusion, and betrayal towards everyone around her. Often things went badly for her, and she doubted God because she thought he was punishing her for the wrong things she had done. Since she doubted God, she would pray and realize that everything happens for a reason. She wasn’t being punished; there was a lesson that needed to be learned, and when she struggled, she wouldn’t dwell on her sinfulness, she continued with living her life.…
I believe that Anne Bradstreet (1612 – 1672), made major contributions to early American Literature through her poetry. Her poems stressed the daily struggles and stress of Puritan life. Bradstreet had struggled with the validity of the Scriptures, but through her life experiences she developed a strong belief in God. Bradstreet paved the way for future female writers. She used her poetry and writing skills to break through the stereotypes and the strict moral code that was placed on women in her time. Bradstreet, with the help of her brother-n-law, had her manuscript of poetry printed in London in 1650. “The Tenth Muse” was the first collection of poems written by an American resident. Bradstreet was better known for her writings that detailed her daily life and her relationship with her family. She describes in great detail the relationships she had with her father, husband, children and even her grandchildren.…
The puritan’s view of the way things should be done in this century was that men and women had certain roles and for women to step outside of these boundaries, that is to act in a way that it is perceived that only men should act, is highly contestable. The puritans adhered to the bible very closely. Also, the puritan society of early Massachusetts was among the most critical that could be imagined. John Winthrop who was the prosecutor in the case against Anne Hutchinson was among the strictest puritan, along with the local government. One can clearly identify the puritan’s feelings of their superiority, not only in law, government, and church, but also in being a man as opposed…
In American literature, some female writers portrayed the roles of women in their writings. Women were seen only as caregivers of their homes, husbands, and children in the eighteenth century and earlier. Anne Bradstreet and Abigail Adams were women writers whom played similar roles in the different century they lived in. Women of the seventeenth and eighteenth century were deprived the chance to be more than just a woman. Through Anne Bradstreet’s poem The Prologue and the letters of Abigail Adams, readers perceive the roles the women played in their times. In ‘‘Rights of Woman’’ and the Problem of Power, written by Andrew Cayton, he speaks on the political problem side of women’s rights and tries to encourage people to think of the value all people obtain. Andrew Cayton’s article relates to Anne Bradstreet’s The Prologue and Abigail Adams’ letters to John Adams because it refers to the roles and rights of women just as they do.…
Puritan works are all didactic; they are all meant to teach a lesson. In Anne Bradstreet’s poem, “Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of our House,” she expresses the idea of weaned affections. Bradstreet wrote, “I blest his name that gave and took” (122). Bradstreet was upset about her house burning and losing everything, but she also believed that everything she had was because of God, and it all belonged to him anyways. Bradstreet ends her poem with, “My hope and treasure lies above” (123) meaning that her faith is in God, and she believes that she has a home in heaven. The lesson in Bradstreet’s poem is the idea of weaned affections; she realizes she should not become too attached to physical things.…
Puritanism brought forth an entire era of American literature. Their ideas of plainness and equality transcended directly into Romanticism. Similarly, their moral character shaped America into what it is today. In her poem, Anne Bradstreet discusses how gravely ill she feels and how ready she is for death. To put into context, she specifies how she feels as if her life is over, and at only age 20. In her poem, “Upon a Fit of Sickness”, Anne Bradstreet writes: “All men must die, & so must I: this cannot be revoked”, which directly states that every man in this…
One of the negative traits of the Puritans was sexism. They were sexist because they excluded from decision making in the churches (002). Women were only respected if they managed a household (002). While male Puritans could receive a college education, women didn’t receive a college education, in fact women didn’t receive an education at all (003). It is sad that so much talent was wasted from women was wasted in the Puritan colonies.…
Conditions changed for Englishwomen over the colonial period in America. In early colonial period men, woman and children traveled to America to settle. This was unusual because usually young men are going first to the frontier then woman and families follow afterward. The families coming to America together created a tight knit community where they had public elementary schools for the children to learn to read. More Englishmen than Englishwomen who came to Massachusetts could read. Some woman in Jamestown worked at the tobacco farms and in other colonies may have done other sorts of labor. At the time women’s labor belonged to their husband. In the early 1600s many Puritans, like John Winthrop, who came to America from England followed the…
William Bradford repeatedly wrote about God intervening in human affairs. In one instance, he stated, “Being thus arrived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of heaven, who had brought them over the fast and furious ocean…” (Norton Anthology 75). Through statements like this one, Bradford illustrates the Puritans’ heavy reliance on God. They seem to believe that everything happens for a reason in relation to God. If there were prosperous times, the pilgrims were being rewarded. If bad events occurred, they were being punished. This is how Bradford and the Puritans viewed the world. Anne Bradstreet exhibited similar beliefs. She mentioned God and the concept of eternity in many of her poems and letters. In a letter to her children, she discussed how Satan had tried to hurt her by making her question her beliefs many times. She said that she overcame this by seeing all of the little miracles that surrounded her (Norton Anthology 125). Her intense faith in God is a trademark of her Puritan beliefs. Bradstreet exhibited an overwhelming amount of trust in a being that she had never actually seen. Therefore, Bradford and Bradstreet most definitely exhibit their Puritan beliefs throughout their…
Similar to that of Rowlandson, Bradstreet sought comfort through her Puritan belief. Bradstreet moved to a new colony with her husband. However, this move was not without hardships. When Bradstreet and her family made the big move to America in 1630, many fellow travelers died, and Bradstreet herself developed small pox as paralysis took over her joints. But with “…the belief that God had not abandoned [her] helped her survive the hardships of the colony.”(annebradstreet.com)…
we can also depict the lives of the puritan women in New England. some historians depict the colonial period as a "golden age" for women. "Surviving letters indicate that men and women generally accommodated themselves to the gender roles…
Woman have always played an important role in history, and also helped shape America into what it is today. Throughout history, the importance of gender roles was firmly established to maintain strong family structures. Which also meant, that woman had little to no rights in comparison to the men in colonial America. Woman in colonial times began to take notice of their inequality, and despite the hardships, pain and trials most of the woman experienced, they still succeeded in enduring some of the differences between their opposite sex. The social inequality many women had to face might have been the reason why many women opted to stay with the Natives after being captured.…
While English colonial women tended to experience more oppression because of societal expectations of women’s subordination and Native American women experienced a much greater equality of genders, both groups of women were integral to the evolution of their respective societies. Both Native American women and colonial women’s sexualities confused and provided points of misunderstanding in the colonial era of America that contributed to a change in the societies.…
The girls of the American colonies were educated in order to grow and become fitting wives. After a woman's homemaker education, she was ready for courtship. This took place at about 16 years of age. During this courtship, the woman did have full decision on which she was to marry. While it was ultimately up to her which man she would choose to spend her life with, her family did have some say. Before a man could date a girl, he would have to receive permission from her father. If he did not find the man fit to be married to his daughter, he would not permit the courtship to continue. If the family liked the man, they would put pressure on the girl to choose him. This idea of family involvement very much resembles the way it is now. The marriage…
The Colonial Era was an interesting time for women. They were starting to believe they deserve more rights than they were given. Some might say it was a golden age for them, and then others would disagree. In the 5 articles; “Women in Work and Poverty: The Difficulties of Earning a Living” by Lyle Koehler, “The Planters Wife: The Experiment of White Women in Seventeenth-Century Maryland” by Lois Green Carr and Lorena S. Walsh, “Women Before the Bar” by Cornelia Hughes Dayton, “Gender, Work and Wages in Colonia New England” by Gloria L. Main, and “The Myth of the Golden Age” by Mary Beth Norton, they talk about whether women became more liberated during this time, or if it was a fabrication.…
