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Family life in Puritan society revolved around the nuclear family, with husbands as the heads of households and wives expected to be obedient and submissive. The primary role of women was seen as childbearing and raising children. Large families were common, and women often bore many children.
Anne Hutchinson (née Marbury; July 1591 – August 1643) was a Puritan spiritual advisor, religious reformer, and an important participant in the Antinomian Controversy which shook the infant Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1636 to 1638.
In addition to the preparation poetry seen by Edward Taylor, the Puritan woman Anne Bradstreet wrote dense poetry of her own. She spoke in a deeply personal manner distant from the general understanding of the role of Puritan women. She used poetry as a mode of demonstrating her love for family, husband, and God.
Puritans played the leading roles in establishing the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629, the Saybrook Colony in 1635, the Connecticut Colony in 1636, and the New Haven Colony in 1638. The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was established by settlers expelled from Massachusetts because of their unorthodox religious opinions.
Pious Puritan mothers laboured for their children's righteousness and salvation, connecting women directly to matters of religion and morality. [82] In her poem titled "In Reference to her Children", poet Anne Bradstreet reflects on her role as a mother:
Overall, the Puritan belief and prevailing New England culture was that women were inherently sinful and more susceptible to damnation than men were. [36] Throughout their daily lives, Puritans, especially Puritan women, actively attempted to thwart attempts by the Devil to overtake them and their souls. Indeed, Puritans held the belief that ...
In England, she embraced the religious views of dynamic Puritan minister John Cotton, who became her mentor; Cotton was forced to leave England and Hutchinson followed him to New England. In Boston, Hutchinson was influential among the settlement's women and hosted them at her house for discussions on the weekly sermons. Eventually, men were ...
The role of women is a common subject found in Bradstreet's poems. Living in a Puritan society, Bradstreet did not approve of the stereotypical idea that women were inferior to men during the 1600s. Women were expected to spend all their time cooking, cleaning, taking care of their children, and attending to their husband's every need.