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.
Anne Hutchinson has long been seen as a strong religious dissenter who paved the way for religious freedom in the strictly Puritan environment of New England. Another interpretation of the controversy surrounding Anne Hutchinson asserts that she was simply a loving wife and mother whose charisma and personal ideas were misconstrued to be a radical religious movement. Since this alleged religious movement was led by a woman, it was quickly dealt with by the Puritan fathers as a real threat. Whatever her motives, she was clearly a great leader in the cause of religious toleration in America and the advancement of women in society. Although Anne Hutchinson is historically documented to have been banished as a religious dissenter, the real motive for her persecution was that she challenged the traditional subordinate role of women in Puritan society by expressing her own religious convictions.
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.
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”.
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”
One foundation in the development of Colonial America was the right to religious freedom. Ironically, this ideology led to the banishment and excommunication of Anne Hutchinson from the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Puritan church, however she and her followers migrated to Rhode Island and continued to practice their beliefs. Her deviance from the Puritan belief that salvation is earned by “good works” and advocating that salvation is derived from “grace from God” brought attention to her weekly women’s Bible studies. She stood firm in her convictions and defied the Puritan leaders and Governor, which was prohibited for women living in this era. Puritan women were not allowed to speak or think for themselves, yet Anne Hutchinson chose to fervently express her beliefs.
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.
2. Hutchinson kept open her house for comers and electrified these people about the revolutions from god. And her
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
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
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.
...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.
In Puritan led Massachusetts Bay Colony during the days of Anne Hutchinson was an intriguing place to have lived. It was designed ideally as a holy mission in the New World called the “city upon a hill,” a mission to provide a prime example of how protestant lives should have subsisted of. A key ingredient to the success of the Puritan community was the cohesion of the community as a whole, which was created by a high level of conformity in the colony. Puritan leaders provided leadership for all facets of life; socially, economically, religiously, and even politically. A certain hierarchy was very apparent in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, in which ministers always seemed to have gotten their way. Governor Winthrop got his way in 1637 by banishing a woman, Anne Hutchinson, whom he thought posed a threat to the structure of the colony. I believe that there is a legit rationale for her banishment, this being her religious ideas that were very close to that of the Antinomians who Governor Winthrop was not too fond of. I also think that this was not the primal reason. In my mind, Anne’s gender played a large role in determining whether or not she actually posed a serious threat to the solidarity of Massachusetts.
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...
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.