Though women were subordinates by both the eye of the church and the government, women found ways to express authority both intentionally and unintentionally. Women began to act independently in patriarchal society. In 17th century Euro-America Puritan society believed that men played a patriarchal role upon women, and that this role was instituted by God and nature. The seniority of men over women lay within both the household and the public sphere. The household, immediate family living in the same dwelling was subject to the male as head figure of the house. The public sphere also known as the social life within the Puritan community consisted of two echelons. These echelons consisted of formal and informal public. The formal public consisted of woman and indentured servants. Women were to stay within the informal public and stay in the shadows of the men. Among these women are Anne Hutchinson, and Mary Rowlandson. Both women were similar in social status, both high statuses, well-educated women. Social and religious patterns were two of the determining factors for women’s roles in the New England colonies. Anne Hutchinson’s independence led to her banishment where Mary Rowlandson’s independence led to the publication of her spiritual experience. Anne Hutchinson, of Massachusetts Bay, was a woman of Euro-American society in the early 17th century. Born in the late 16th century, Hutchinson was baptized into the Puritan church. She was self taught and learned also by reading the books within her father’s library. Her family was middle class and members of the church. Her father was a reverend. She married William Hutchinson a magistrate in the colony. Hutchinson like many other women played a role in child beari... ... middle of paper ... ... her personal relationship with God, where Mary Rowlandson went through scripture to seek spiritual interpretation. The men were opposed to Anne Hutchinson’s action where they were not to Mary Rowlandson’s. The reason lies within the patriarchal society. Men were able to have some control over Rowlandson and not Hutchinson. Rowlandson was the perfect example of Puritan piety, and Hutchinson was not. Hutchinson was a threat to them as well because she showed her power within the court room when they had such a hard time finding her guilty. Did Rowlandson learn from Hutchinson’s mistakes of taking it to far, or did the Puritan government learn through the course of the 17th century that by empowering women, as they did Rowlandson they could keep women within their gender roles. Regardless both women had a voice, and regardless of the outcomes both voices were heard.
In the book Good Wives: Image and Reality in the Lives of Women in Northern New England 1650-1750, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich attempts to highlight the role of women that was typical during this particular time period. During this point in history in hierarchal New England, as stated both in Ulrich’s book and “Give Me Liberty! An American History” by Eric Foner, ordinary women were referred to as “goodwives” (Foner 70). “A married woman in early New England was simultaneously a housewife, a deputy husband, a consort, a mother, a mistress, a neighbor, and a Christian” and possibly even a heroine (Ulrich 9). While it is known that women were an integral part of economic and family life in the colonies during this time, Ulrich notes that it is unlikely
Anne Hutchinson was a remarkable colonial woman who first came to Massachusetts in the fall of 1634. She is less remembered for her contributions in the new world as a wife, mother of fourteen, and midwife to many than for her eventual trial and banishment from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. I was interested in writing a paper on a colonial woman and chose Anne Hutchinson after a "Google" search turned up a very good review on a recent book about her life. I have been intrigued by the fact that the Puritans came to America to practice their religion freely, yet allowed no freedom to question their doctrine. The book, American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans, is an excellent examination of this lack of religious freedom and the life of a woman that intersects it.
Upon her arrival to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1634, Anne Hutchinson was a much respected member of her community. As time went on, her dealings with the religion began to be...
Firstly John Winthrop whom was the governor of Massachusetts Bay was accusing Anne hutchinson of “troubling the peace of commonwealth and the churches here”. Anne was holding meetings at her house; teaching women and sometimes even men about religion. To quote directly from the document John Winthrop said: “You have maintained a meeting and an assembly in your house that hath been considered by the general assembly as a thing not tolerable nor comely in the sight of god nor fitting for your sex.” with this quote alone you can see Winthrop’s distaste for Anne ;a women, teaching people about religion. you can make the connection that because John Winthrop is the governor of Massachusetts he has more than likely instilled in his people the idea of a strict patriarchal society. In the Quote Winthrop says ‘...considered by the general assembly as a thing not tolerable nor comely in the sight of god nor fitting for your sex”. A General assembly is basically a community, more...
Despite her beliefs threatening both civil and ecclesiastical law, Hutchinson’s presence was not immediately removed from the community, for she “appeared again; (she had been licensed by the court, in regard she had given hope of her repentance, to at Mr. Cotton’s house that both he and Mr. Davenport might have more opportunity to deal with her)”. In dragging out Mrs. Hutchinson’s case, she still continued to defy the wishes of the church, “much to the astonishment of all the assembly”, displaying another instance of tolerance because she still lingers in the community. “So that after much time and many arguments had been spent to bring her to see her sin, but all in vain, the church with one consent cast her out”.
Anne Hutchinson's efforts, according to some viewpoints, may have been a failure, but they revealed in unmistakable manner the emotional starvation of Puritan womanhood. Women, saddened by their hardships, depressed by their religion, denied an open love for beauty...flocked with eagerness to hear this feminine radical...a very little listening seems to have convinced them that this woman understood the female heart far better than did John Cotton of any other male pastor of the settlements. (C. Holliday, pps. 45-46.)
It seems most probable that Anne Hutchinson was tried for Arminianism and holding meetings that supported Arminianism in her home. Arminianism was the belief that people could achieve salvation by doing good with their life. Puritans believed strongly in Calvinist ideas, which meant that only God and his grace saved the people. They believed that salvation was for the predetermined not for everyone like the Arminians believed. Puritan leaders had allowed arguments about bible passages or how Christians should live but to disrupt their idea of a “perfect city”
Anne Hutchinson was born in Alford, England in 1591 to Bridget Dryden, a schoolteacher, and Frances Marbury, a minister. She was home schooled by her parents and they wanted to make sure their children, especially the girls received an education that would be equivalent to those provided to boys during that era. By reading religious books from her father’s library, she discovered more questions than the books provided answers. Because of this extensive education, she was not afraid to question the Church’s authority in the details of doctrine.
An outspoken female in a male hierarchy, Hutchinson had little hope that many would speak in her defense, and she was being tried by the General Court. In 1636 she was charged with hersey and banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony. Several years later, when she moved to New York, she was killed in an Indian attack. Anne challenged the Puritan clergy. She believed that: "1.One can feel one's salvation and is filled with the spirit of God after conversion.
In conclusion, Puritans looked down upon woman, thus women were always the accusation of many evil and sins. Whether it was Puritan teachings or events associated with the accusations of women, people wanted to blame women for what was taking place. Puritan teachings, were the uproar of all the negative assumptions society had against women. Furthermore, the events and accusations that took place reflected the way men acknowledged women. Men were considered the superior gender and women were created just to elevate men’s role in society, and nothing else. If a woman, was to stand equal to a man that would defy her very role in existence, and so the role of a woman was never acknowledged in Puritan society.
8. Anne Hutchinson is so important to the future of religion in America to day because she supports people to have and listen their own opinions. She lets people thinking that their voices are meaningful to their community. However, she is such a danger to her community because she influences majority of people believe in her godliness and can change the society in the future.
They were rebellious, even though they were watched closely by their masters and were isolated from each other. Throughout history, many women tried to change the role of women in society. For example, Anne Hutchinson was a religious woman that opposed the church fathers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony by saying "that she, and other ordinary people, could interpret the Bible for themselves." She started to hold big meetings for women (and even a few men came) to hear her criticize local ministers. She was put on trial twice for two separate reasons, but she still stood her ground. The first trial was by the church for heresy and the other was by the government for questioning their authority. Eventually, she was banished in 1638 from the colony. However, this didn 't stop future women from trying to gain independence from traditional values and
19th-Century Women Works Cited Missing Women in the nineteenth century, for the most part, had to follow the common role presented to them by society. This role can be summed up by what historians call the “cult of domesticity”. The McGuffey Readers does a successful job at illustrating the women’s role in society. Women that took part in the overland trail, as described in “Women’s Diaries of the Westward Journey” had to try to follow these roles while facing many challenges that made it very difficult to do so. One of the most common expectations for women is that they are responsible for doing the chore of cleaning, whether it is cleaning the house, doing the laundry.
...y uses anecdotes and stories of women in the 17th and 18th centuries to provide evidence to the reader and demonstrate the roles women filled and how they filled those roles. Furthermore, she illustrates the individuality in each woman’s story. Although in several of the stories the women may be filling the same roles, the uniqueness of the situation varies from woman to woman. Ulrich’s use of period stories helps add to the credibility of the arguments she makes. She makes the reader feel the weight of responsibility on the shoulders of colonial New England women. A sense of appreciation is gained by the reader for the sheer number of roles fulfilled by the women of New England. In addition, Ulrich’s real life accounts also give valuable insight to life as it was during this time period in American history and the silent heroes behind it – the wives of New England.
Woman and family roles are considerably different today than they were back in Puritan times. Puritans thought that the public’s foundation rested on the “little commonwealth”, and not merely on the individual. The “little commonwealth” meant that a father’s rule over his family mirrored God’s rule over creation or a king over his subjects. John Winthrop believed that a “true wife” thought of herself “in [weakness] to her husband’s authority.” As ludicrous as this idea may appeal to women and others in today’s society, this idea was truly necessary for colonies to be able to thrive and maintain social order.