Edgar S. Morgan gives a complete understanding of the Puritan Faith in his novel, The Puritan Family. He shows how the Puritans honored God above all, and that the Puritans primary goal was to lead an honest life filled with blessings which, in turn, would secure a place in heaven for themselves. The novel describes in detail the duties and expectations of every member of the Puritan family. Relationships between the Puritan wife and husband, and the parents and their children are all covered. Puritans believed marriage to be a sacred covenant between men and women.
Both husband and wife were assigned duties by God, and it was crucial for Puritans to carry out their lives based on these duties. When husband and wife neglect their duties they not only wrong each other, but they provoke God by breaking his law (Morgan pg. 30).
A Puritan husband and wife were expected by society to create a family and remain together until death. Under some circumstances the civil courts would grant divorce when either party could prove that the other had neglected a fundamental duty, however both were certain to be shunned by the community. Since marriage was an ordinance of God and its duties commands of God, the Puritan courts enforced these duties (39).
The government and the entire community were both influenced by the laws of God.
The husband was expected to remain faithful to his wife his whole life. He had a duty as a husband to support his wife, and this was enforced by judicial action. When a woman married, her property passed to her husband (40) and in return he furnished her support. On top of this, he was to be loving and tender of her. A womans role in the Puritan family was understood by all. No respectable person questioned that womans place was in the home (42).
The Essay on Anne Bradstreet Husband Lines God
Anne Bradstreet: Social view of poetry Anne Bradstreet was a great poetry writer of the Puritans. Of the many things that she wrote poems about which included loyalty to her husband, the burning of her house, and many philosophical poems, she used several different elements in her writing. In the following it will be described examples of how Anne Bradstreet s literature reflected socialism of ...
As soon as a woman was wed, she turned over all of her possessions to her husband.
Her duty was to manage the household, educate the children, and supply the families with everyday necessities. Without question, the colonial dame remained subject to her husbands authority (43).
Wealth and religion were two usual factors of a spouse that Puritans made sure were present before marriage. Puritan parents frequently (79) attempted to arrange the marriages of their children with those who they felt suitable, usually someone who would certainly provide security. However, marriages were never forced if the child had any objection to the person. Of course attraction played a role in selecting a spouse, but it was not as important as wealth and religion.
The first duty of a Puritan parent was the duty of any parent: to give food, shelter, and protection to his children (Morgan pg. 65).
Puritan parents would emphasize the need for their children to start an early apprenticeship in order to have developed a career by the age of twenty-one. Often, a Puritan daughter would start the study of a calling at an extremely early age because it was likely that she would never follow a career but that of a housewife. Boys did not train for a future career until they had matured more. Unless of course, they had followed the footsteps of their father into his career, which was not uncommon at all.
It became customary in New England for an apprentice to live with his or her master, even if his own home stood next door (76).
If a child were to live with his or her master, this meant that the master would take over the role of the parent as the disciplinarian. Puritan parents felt this to be an extremely efficient way to raise their children. Indeed, the parent could meet the child upon a plane of affection and friendliness. At the same time the child would be taught good behavior by someone who would not forgive him any mischief out of affection for his person (78).
Although the Puritans and their way of life may seem odd or strange to that of the American ways and its culture, the novel makes apparent that there are some comparisons between the two. The Puritans believed that succeeding in life would secure themselves a place in Gods kingdom, therefore they made certain to accomplish their goal of success. Puritans felt that their materialistic items were blessings from God, and such blessings indicated that they were working hard and were bound to succeed.
The Essay on Child/ parent relationship in the Little Boy Crying?
The poem, Little Boy Crying, written by Mervyn Morris is mainly about father and sons relationship. Poet shows the two main themes through this relationship; fathers love towards his child and his effort to lead his child into a right world in life. Mervyn Morris explores the child and parents relationship by using second person narration and language techniques such as allusion and emotive words. ...
Americans today are the same exact way. The United States is completely run by whoever has been the most successful, and whoever has the most money. The major difference between American society today and the Puritans is that Americans do not strive to succeed for the sole purpose of entering heaven. Americans succeed for the pleasure of it and for the power that it rewards. Edgar S. Morgan shows how Puritans strive to succeed only to assure their place in heaven.