Prologue

Anne Bradstreet’s status as a Puritan woman informs her writing and reputation. Puritanism is not a formally defined religious denomination but a term used to identify a subset of English Protestants who sought to completely rid the Church of England of Catholic practices and advocated purity in worship and piousness in personal endeavors. Persecuted in England, these Puritans emigrated to New England during the reign of Charles I, primarily from 1629 to 1640. Puritan leaders were often well-educated politicians, lawyers, and writers. They believed in literacy and were notable for educating daughters as well as sons. However, Puritan leadership was dominated by men; their reading of Christianity very strongly promoted the idea that men were the true spiritual, intellectual, and financial heads of the household. Historian Eve LaPlante describes the ideal Puritan woman as “modest, meek, submissive, virtuous, obedient, and kind […] solely occupied with supervising and maintaining the home, cooking sometimes brewing and dairying, and bearing and rearing children” (See: Further Reading & Resources). 

This power dynamic extended to boys and girls. Boys were prepared for vocation and leadership, whereas girls were educated for domestic life. Bradstreet, however, as a child, had access to the library of an earl who employed her father; she learned French, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, which allowed her to read widely.