Anne Bradstreet

Why did Anne Bradstreet question the Puritan beliefs?

            Anne Bradstreet was one of the first American writers, and was heavily influenced by her Puritan religion. Puritan women were supposed to be submissive to their husbands, and it was the woman’s role to have children and be domestic. Women were to keep their opinions to themselves and not challenge the leadership role of the man. (http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/Bradstreet/bradbio.htm). Anne Bradstreet was well educated, which was very uncommon for a woman. Women were not allowed to attend school so Bradstreet, instead, had to learn by reading the books in her father’s library (http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap1/bradstreet.html). Also, any poems that were written were supposed to be about one’s love for God instead of self expression; poems of self expression were considered heresy (http://parrishco.com/academic/anne-bradstreets-use-of-religious-doctrine-in-her-poetry/). Men thought that her poetry took away from her job as a mother and wife. Anne Bradstreet questioned these beliefs of male dominance, and could be called one of the early feminists (http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/Bradstreet/bradbio.htm).

            Anne Bradstreet was also close friends with Anne Hutchinson, another controversial feminist of the time. Anne Hutchinson held meetings with women in which they debated religion and ethical issues. Anne Hutchinson also held religious beliefs that were considered heretical because they deviated from the Puritan beliefs. These doubts were implanted in Anne Bradstreet’s mind. Anne Hutchinson was expelled from Massachusetts (http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/Bradstreet/bradbio.htm).

            She also questioned her believes because, according to the Puritans, God was supposed to come first but Anne felt like family should come first (http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap1/bradstreet.html). She was materialistic and also struggled with issues concerning “sin, redemption, physical and emotional frailty, and death and immortality” (http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap1/bradstreet.html). Bradstreet was able to reconcile with God when her house burned down, and all her material goods were destroyed. She finally accepted that the value of material goods was dwarfed in comparison to the treasures that await people in heaven. Bradstreet writes about her feelings conflicting between earthly pleasures and heavenly pleasures in the poems:  “My Dwelling Place,” “House on High Erect, Framed by that Mighty Architect,” “Upon the Burning of our House, July 10^th, 1666, and “The Flesh and the Spirit” (http://parrishco.com/academic/anne-bradstreets-use-of-religious-doctrine-in-her-poetry/). Following is a video of “Upon the Burning of our House, July 10^th, 1666”: 

                               

                Anne Bradstreet pushed boundaries by writing poetry, which was something that women were not supposed to do, and writing about emotions instead of about God. She questioned her Puritan beliefs, but in the end she still believed in God, even if she did not believe in the Puritan ideals. Anne Bradstreet escaped excommunication because her poems were not published until after her death.