Margaret Fell and Mary Howgill were two prominent female writers during the seventeenth century in England, both whom were members of the Religious Society of Friends – more commonly referred to as Quakers which advocated political activism, equal rights for women and secular authority. Hogwill and Fell were imprisoned for years for endorsing Quakerism. Margaret Fell penned “Women’s Speaking Justified, Proved and Allowed of by Scriptures” A work advocating for the liberty and authority of women by spiritual justification. Mary Howgill composed a letter to the leader of Parliament: Oliver Cromwell, addressing how he persecuted fellow Quakers, corrupted the world for his own gain and turned his back on God and the Word of God. In this essay,
Having analyzed Fell’s work, we can begin to trace the similarities and differences between the two texts and determine the superior of the two. The Quaker women similarly stylized as works of prose as a means of conveying their subject matter across all audiences. The difference is that Mary Howgill does not use characters or figures from the bible to strengthen her position the way Margaret Fell does; instead her allusions are a reference to particular quotes and phrases from the Bible that which she uses to incriminate Oliver Cromwell and present a juxtaposition between Cromwell and Quakers. Her letter is structured entirely through her biblical allusions combined with fixed word connotations to invoke an emotional response from the reader. There is a visible difference in tone in comparison to Fell’s work; the words employed by Howgill are meant to penetrate the mind when read, it is in a way dramatic in its rhetoric while Fell’s tone is more articulate and formally based. Howgill’s letter is littered with exclamations such as “Oh!” and “Woe is me for thee!” as a way to display the letter as a cry to the spiritual fall of Cromwell, such exclamations deliver the discourse with sound and urgency to be heard and come outside of the page. Her distinctive voice is very intense and the allusions that which she cherry-picks allow her dexterity to attack Cromwell in such a fashion. For example, Hogwill makes claim that “thy way is now darkness,” (902). Howgill lifts these choice words as an allusion to Proverbs. The allusion is made to exhibit how Cromwell is now wicked and does not know the consequences that he will stumble upon from persecuting Quakers and turning his back on God. Howgill makes another allusion to II Timothy: “Them who suffer with him shall reign with him.” (903). The allusion used is Howgill’s attempt to foreshadow that Quakers will
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.
Women did not have many rights during 1616-1768, these three prominent women Pocahontas, Anne Hutchinson and Hannah Griffitts, will show many changes for women symbols from the Colony America, American Christianity to Boycotting British Goods. All three were involved in religious, political and cultural aspects during there time, making many changes and history. There are three documents that will be used to compare these three women Pocahontas Engraving (1616), Simon Van De Passee, The Examination of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson at the Court at Newton (1637), David D. Hall and Women’s Role In Boycotting English Goods, Hannah Griffits (1768), The Female Patriots.
Winstanley is a partly dependable resource as he lived at the time of Cromwell. His differing view from Cromwell must have influenced his opinion but his statement is for the most part based in truth, other than the personal insult of calling Cromwell ‘the English monster’.
Between the years 1776 and 1876, many people from different backgrounds and religions joined the fight for women's rights. Among them were some of today's most memorable female activists, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who was also a mother of seven children. She was first influenced by a Quaker woman, named Lucretia Mott, who she met outside of a world antislavery convention in 1840. Eventually, Stanton joined Susan B. Anthony, who was a fearless "militant lecturer for women's rights," in "a more strident, drive for divorce liberation, sexual freedom, and reproductive control for women. Other crusaders for women's rights include Amelia Bloomer, Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, and even the second first lady, Abigail Adams. Those who opposed the suffragists believed women to be inferior and "irresponsible" beings who were "physically and emotionally weak, but also artistic and refined." They also had "finely tuned morals" and were the "keepers of society's conscience." On the other hand, men were thought of as "strong but crude" and with a natural tyrannical and savage nature that needed to be "guided by the gentle hands of their loving ladies." Abigail confirms the male's natural desire for arbitrary power in Document B, for she stated, "[...] all Men would be tyrants if they could."
Religion was the foundation of the early Colonial American Puritan writings. Many of the early settlements were comprised of men and women who fled Europe in the face of persecution to come to a new land and worship according to their own will. Their beliefs were stalwartly rooted in the fact that God should be involved with all facets of their lives and constantly worshiped. These Puritans writings focused on their religious foundations related to their exodus from Europe and religions role in their life on the new continent. Their literature helped to proselytize the message of God and focused on hard work and strict adherence to religious principles, thus avoiding eternal damnation. These main themes are evident in the writings of Jonathan Edwards, Cotton Mathers, and John Winthrop. This paper will explore the writings of these three men and how their religious views shaped their literary works, styles, and their historical and political views.
Reis, Elizabeth. Damned Women: Sinners and Witches in Puritan New England.( New York: Cornell University Press, 1999), 107-108.
Within the reading of this book, one has to realize that most of the literature has very religious overtones that run rife throughout the most works of this time. Howarth makes a great attempt to not let this influence the way he brings forth the history of the time. Making sure he does not let this affect his judgment, he does a great job of citing lots of sources and scrutinizing all of these along the way. He makes sure his facts are as accurate as possible as well as...
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
This scandalous case centers on a woman named Katherine Watkins. On Friday, August 18, 1681, Katherine accused a slave by the name of John Long, also known as Jack, of rape. There was some evidence of violence, but there were also outstanding questions about her character and conduct. Those who testified, however, painted a different picture about certain events preceding the crime. They were John Aust, William Harding, Mary Winter, Lambert Tye, Humphrey Smith, Jack White (Negro), Dirk (Negro), and Mingo (Negro). Whether these individuals were so inclined because Katherine Watkins was a Quaker, rather than an Anglican, we can never really know. That certainly fueled the fire, though. The day in question involved an afternoon of cider drinking. Several of the witnesses in the testimonies recounted Mrs. Watkins sexual advances to multiple of Thomas Cocke 's slaves, particularly, a mulatto named Jack. John Aust pleaded that Katherine, at one point, had lifted the shirt of one slave and announced “Dirke thou wilt have a good long thing” (Sex and Relations, 53). She allegedly had thrown another on the bed, kissed him, and, “put her hand into his codpiece” (Sex and Relations, 53). The most interesting piece of evidence that Aust brings forward is that Jack was actually avoiding Watkins at the party, an apparent attempt at avoiding any intimate entanglement with her (Sex and Relations, 52). Finally, he reported that Watkins and Jack had gone into a side room (Sex and Relations, 53). Later in the trial, Humphrey Smith seemingly referred to Aust 's testimony. His deposition suggested that he and Aust had some reservations about Jack 's guilt (Sex and Relations 54). Clearly, the character of the plaintiff was considered important evidence in the trial of a slave for rape. The reasonable extenuating circumstances of the case might have granted the magistrates leave way
Women and power were not synonymous in colonial America. Men owned companies, worked in government, and controlled every aspect of life. This is mainly due to the popular religion of Christianity because in the bible, women do not hold roles of power and the focus is on men. The bible says all women were made from men and that women should not have rights, so most people believed that because they were fundamentalists. Fundamentalists are people who believe in every word of the bible and follow it to the exact word. This society eventually caused women to crack, and look for ways that they could have a voice. The horrid treatment of women was not the only way, as Quakers were not horrible to women. Quakers believe in an inner light and they
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.
The male Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony did not like women to think that they were above them, such evidence is the trial of Anne Hutchinson at Massachusetts Bay in 1637. The document is a transcripts of Anne’s trial. Anne Hutchinson was a rebel during her time and she was fond of the concept of Antinomianism, if your not as fond with this concept,let’s break it down “Antinomiansim” is a greek word it is formed from the words “anti” and “nomos”, “anti” means against and “nomos” means law when combined they form antinomianism which means in its simplest form, against the law or against laws. The transcript was most likely at first kept just for records but eventually it was kept not only to preserve history but to capture the human spirit.
“The wretches have proceeded so far as to concert and consult the methods of rooting out the Christian religion from this country, and setting up instead of it perhaps a more gross diabolism than ever the world saw before.” (Mather 153) Perhaps the “gross diabolism” that he refers to is a world where women, similar to Martha Carrier, are not easily silenced or controlled by the authority of white, Puritan men. While Mather claims to be a historian and not an activist, and tells the reader that he was not there so he could not form any prejudice against those convicted. Despite this, he contradicts himself by slipping in extreme sexist comments towards Carrier, referring to her as a “rampant hag” (Mather 155). Through this, he assumes the role of the unreliable narrator because he is unable to keep his writing
As the many years before, American women had vastly less rights than men. After the Revolution, most women returned back to their jobs and/or duties at home, and women were no longer as socially involved as during the war (“After the Revolution”). The concept that women should only be housewives, and their job was to take care of the house and their husband became strictly prevalent again. Women’s voices were not taken as a serious contribution, and education for women was lacking. Sarah Grimke’s 1838 writing, Letters on the Equality of the Sexes, emphasizes, “Much that she does and says and thinks is done in reference to this situation; and to be married is too often held up to the views of girls as the sine qua non of human happiness and human existence,” (Grimke). Grimke writes on how women’s value is commonly determined by her marital status and home life, yet not one’s own being or ideas. She also depicts how the study of homemaking was more pushed than an actual education, and that women’s mental and physical labor is worth less than a man’s. All of these points were widely accepted in society in the 18th and 19th centuries. This did not however stop women from trying to advocate for their rights and freedoms. Women like Abigail Adams, Dolley Todd Madison and Judith Sargent Murray were open in their distaste for the current
In the late 19th century, Susan B. Antony , Elizabeth Cady Stanton ,Matilda Joslyn Gage, and Harriet Beecher Stowe were famous suffragettes. Influenced by the secular intellectual reasoning that followed the Age of Enlightenment, some of these suffragettes saw in the Church an obstacle to women’s rights and encouraged a matriarchal writing.