Anne Bradstreet's Exemplary Puritan Woman

Upon reading the poems by Anne Bradstreet, one is less likely to deny that Anne was an exemplary Puritan woman. Raising eight children, taking proper care of her family, and being able to write such a wonderful poems at that time is something, I think, we all can appreciate. It is almost unimaginable for a woman of our time to accomplish what Anne did. However, the fact that Woodbridge, Bradstreet’s brother in law, had to write a preface to assure people about the book’s authenticity and also to assure that those poems were not written in neglect of family duties, made me think how indifferently patriarchal Puritan society, then, treated women (Cowell 419). While reading Anne’s brief biography, one thing I really liked was Woodbridge’s eloquence

in describing his sister-in-law, Anne’s personality. He writes:
…it is the work of a woman, honored, and esteemed where she lives, for her gracious demeanor, her eminent parts, her pious conversation, her courteous disposition, her exact diligence in her place, and discreet managing of her family occasions, and more than so, these poems are the fruit but of some few hours, curtailed from her sleep and other refreshments (Cowell 419).
The reason I liked this quote is this: not only has Woodbridge been able to characterize Anne as a perfect Puritan woman as defined by the society, then, but also has been able to downplay Anne’s greatness as a poet while at the same time questioning everyone how much she could do if she would be able to spend more time in her poetry. He does not miss the chance to appreciate Anne’s sacrifice to become a poet, despite the responsibilities she had to fulfil. Bradstreet’s conciseness and word-choice blew my mind. It could be no better.