Elizabeth Ashbridge

“He likewise let me see that all I had gone through was to prepare me for this Day & that the time was near that he would require me to go forth & declare to others what he the God of Mercy had done for my Soul; at which I was Surprized & begged to be Excused for fear I should bring dishonour to the truth, and cause his Holy name to be Evil spoken of. All the while, I never Let any know the Condition I was in, nor did I appear like a Friend, & fear’d

I can honestly say that at this point in her journal I feel a little compassion for her husband in that he was desperate to have the woman he married back, the wife who was lively and used to sing and dance. However, by forcing his wife to dance with him even though she refused shows what a pathetic character he has become. Fate steps in at this time when the “man in Company who came from Freehold in East Jersey” offers to have them live amongst them saying, “we’ll soon cure her of her Quakerism,…” Her husband’s hope is renewed but as it turns out, this is a turning point for Elizabeth. Here she makes her commitment and stands her ground and feels good about not consenting to the dance even though, “He then pluck’d me round the Room till Tears affected my Eyes…affording the Answer of peace in refusing to Dance…I will Obey, & not fear to Confess thee before men.”

“When my Husband and he Used to be making their Diversion & reviling, I used to sit in Silence, but now and then an involuntary Sigh would break from me: at which he would tell my husband: “there, did not I tell you that your wife was a Quaker; & She will be a preacher.”

However, this passage also illustrates the power her husband still had over her and the inward pain she inflicts upon herself spiritually by her denial:

Some topics in this essay:
Darkness Surrounded, Daniel Shea, Self Common, Luckily Elizabeth, Soul Surprized, Dance…I Obey, Husband Diversion, Acquainted Friends”, East Jersey”, Tryal Faith”, passage illustrates, elizabeth able, quaker faith, doubts fears,