The Role of Puritan Women
The New England colonies were a direct outgrowth of a renewal of religious conflict in England. The more intense Protestants, calling themselves the Puritans, demanded a simplification of the church and less control by the English church. The Puritans intended the Massachusetts Bay colony “to be a holy commonwealth made up of religious folk bound together in the harmonious worship of God and the pursuit of their “calling” (65, Tindall and Shi).” This new land proposed new opportunities for all and demanded new ways of thinking on the part of the new colonists. However, some traditional ideals never change. In England, at this time and many centuries later, women had few rights compared to their male counterparts. Males brought these same ideals over to the New World, for example no women were brought on the first voyage to America. Women’s role in Puritan society differed socially, politically, and economically numerous ways.It was inevitable that the holy commonwealth’s efforts to maintain social
It was generally believed that were not capable of handling their own economic affairs. At the paramount of the colonies establishment, women held menial jobs in society, however as time progressed they were given more opportunities. Women were allowed to “obey and serve their husbands, nurture their children, and endure taxing labor required to maintain their households (105, Tindall and Shi).” Women such as Anne Bradstreet believed it was their duty to serve their husbands. Her poetry suggests that her life centered around her husband and the love she received from him, “I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold, Or all riches that the East doth hold (67, Grimsted).” Her poetry also gave light to another important position women had in Puritan society, childbearing. In rare instances women served as “doctors, printers, painters, silversmiths, tanners, and shipwrights (107, Tindall and Shi).” The New World environment did give way to the laws over estate, inheritance, abuse, and other issues in fa
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Approximate Word count = 688
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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