Comment on one or more of the prompts:
1. Two pious Puritan women... or maybe not; in what ways do the writings of Anne Bradstreet and Mary Rowlandson confortm to or transgress their assigned roles as women in their epoch (17th century)?
2. Relate one or more of these women's writing samples with what you have read so far in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
16 comments:
Anne Bradstreet and Mary Rowlandson, both Puritan women, persistently profess their devotedness throughout the works we were assigned to read. This faith, however, is not unwavering, in my opinion.
In regards to their devotion, there are multiple instances where both women explicitly profess their belief. Bradstreet finds comfort in the knowledge that her “wealth” does not, in fact, “on earth abide” (verse 38, I believe), and that she has a permanent and “with glory richly furnished” residence in Heaven. Similarly, Rowlandson, throughout her tale of captivity, seems to find comfort in Biblical verses and in her trust in God, such as at the of the excerpt, when she is grateful for having her Bible with her.
That being said, there are many instances where these women falter. Anne mourning her material possessions and the memories she associated with them, for instance, despite her faith, is made clear by her anaphora of Nor/No, which highlights the intensity of these losses, and just how many things “pleasant things” she had. Comfort was important to her, and she admits it, but accepts it, bidding “Adieu, Adieu, all’s vanity.” (verse 36?).
Rowlandson, I think, has an even more complicated relationship with God in her narrative. Despite her multiple professions of faith, there is a very graphic nature to her descriptions (like when she mentions the scalpings on page 11/54). Moreover, her resilience notwithstanding, she seems to have a complicated relationship with death. A more devout woman, I think, would find some sort of comfort in her child’s death, given that it had been suffering for many days, and was now at peace. The intensity with which she clings to her dead babe (page 10/53), and her acknowledgement of having lost a part of her (that had been incapable of facing a dead body) suggests that her relationship with materiality has been affected by this experience. There is a curious turn of phrase: she says God “[took] away this dear child”. The verb take as opposed to save or rescue seems to betray some resentment, I think. Plus, her gratitude over not having ended her own life tells us that she considered it, at the very least. On the next page, she admits to feeling terrible about what she reads in the Bible, at first: “that there was no mercy for me, that the blessings were gone (…)”. A Bible which, by the way, was offered to her (kindly, as I see it) by a Native American man.
In conclusion, I believe that their doubts make their faith seem stronger. The fact that despite admitting to this falter, they always return to the comfort of their religion says to me that their faith is all the stronger for it. They are not, however, your textbook Puritan women.
Beatriz ML Simoes
In the second paragraph, I meant “at the end of the excerpt”, and in the third paragraph there is one “things” too many. Sorry about that!
In both Twain’s and Bradstreet’s works, the longing for freedom is evident and urgent. In chapter 5, Huck confesses that "[he] didn’t want to go back to the widow's any more and be so cramped up and sivilized, as they called it." The spelling of the word “sivilized”, as already misspelled in chapter one, not only accentuates the poor writing skills of a preteen from a disadvantaged background, but most importantly, is a critique to societal conventions. The Widow, who exercises obsessive control upon Huck, might be a symbol of societal expections, which Huckleberry Finn is eager to run away from. As I see it, Tom Sayer that piece of freedom that Finn is the closest to enjoy. To Anne Bradstreet, that freedom (although a different kind, the spiritual freedom) resides in God and in the afterworld. (“That laid my goods now in the dust:/Yea, so it was, and so 'twas just./It was His own, it was not mine,/Far be it that I should repine."). This detachment from worldly matters and trust in “that mighty Architect“, reflects her desire for a spiritual freedom and deeper connection to what “lies above” over material, superficial life.
There's a certain "blind faith" that permeates both Anne Bradstreet's and Mary Rowlandston's written work, but where Anne's "blind faith" is unwavering, even in the face of a tragedy, Mary's has it's moments of something close to doubt. Not that, anywhere in her own words does Mary actually doubt that there shall be mercy and a helping hand from God, but the way she responds to tragedy, specifically of her own child, shows that she may not be in agreement with all of Gods actions. These gaping diferences can be seen by what both women put to paper first when in relation to tragedy. Anne is thankful for a cry of "Fire" that gave her just enough time to leave her house before it burnt down, thus surviving what could've been a deadly happening. She's also thankful for this divine act, as she seems to believe it, to show her her true wealth - her life - and the fact she is still living to one day come to meet her true treasure that is being kept just for her in His own abode (one could assume she's referring to the day she shall ascend by death to the Heavens and there finally obtaining what she's "due"). On the other hand, Mary considers death a form of punishment. While struggling with her sickened child, she takes a moment of self reflection when she realises it's Sabath and is quite taken aback with how "evilly" she strayed, as she saw it, from God's light, ignoring the work she should've been doing as a faithful woman. Even though she had no choice but to abide to her captors rhythm, she considers it would be more than just if this all powerful entity were to pluck her from life. In this, Mary seems to show that she believes death to be a mere tool of punishment, to be used when someone, like her, strays from the light. This may be the reason why she struggles with the death of her child and her own grief, before she forces herself to start her path back to God via repentance, an act she assumes is rewarded by the visit of one of her own children, who asks about his brothers and sisters and their whereabouts before going back to fight. Although we can point her relationship with death to be more convoluted than the absolute belief that it's only a punishment (as she says that she felt this urge and need to lay down with her dead child), this is mostly where these two women differ in her relationship with God.
All other acts of both women when professing their faith are nothing short of blindingly faithful. But where Anne sees death as a gift, for it will allow her soul to finally rest near God, Mary feels that it would be a just punishment for missing her duty at Sabath, but also describes the death of her child (who she mentions is but 6 years old) as the child being "taken away", which wouldn't be a way to describe giving rest and relief to a suffering and aching soul.
Tiago Coxo Silva
2.
By what I’ve read so far in “The adventures of Huckleberry Finn” I can tell that there’s a relationship between this text and the narrative from Mary Rowlandson. Both texts expose the theme of captivity and freedom, although not in the same way.
On Rowlandson’s narrative, she literally is physically kept captive by what she calls the “Indians”, while Huck, who might feel captive in the same way, only feels it because of the way the Widow controls and civilizes him to behave as the society norms tells him so.
It is also interesting to notice that the way they view freedom is different. On one hand, we see that Mary’s view is based on the desire she has to survive captivity and to have her everyday life back , since she had been token away from her husband and most of her children (only one left with her). On the other hand we see that Finn’s only desire is to live away from the norms and as he wishes.
I also can point out the fact that Finn doesn’t rely on anyone but himself to achieve his own freedom, while Mary relies on God to survive and to bear the suffering of captivity. This shows Huck’s independent characteristic that helps him get away of his intellectual captivity, contrasting with Rowlandson’s dependency on her faith in God to survive her physical and emotional captivity.
Ana Beatriz Gonçalves
1. Both Mary Rowlandson and Anne Bradstreet were puritan women with focus on piety, domesticity, and humility. This conformity is shown in their writing, such as Anne Bradstreet's poem "Verses upon the Burning of our House" referring to God as "that mighty Architect" as she takes consolation in religion amid the loss of her possessions, which she deems to not need anymore due to it never quite being hers, but "purchased and paid for too / By Him who hath enough to do." Similarly is Mary Rowlandson, who sees her tortuous moments of captivity as divine punishment, and therefore her own fault, as she writes in "The Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson": "I then remembered how careless I had been of God's holy time; how many Sabbaths I had lost and misspent, and how evilly I had walked in God's sight; [...] it was easy for me to see how righteous it was with God to cut off the thread of my life and cast me out of His presence." However, they transgress their time's assigned roles by contributing intellectually to literature with their publications. Especially Mary Rowlandson's assertive portrayal of survival while captive.
The works of both Bradstreet and Rowlandson mostly conform to their roles as Puritan women, depicting their faith and devotedness to God. However, mostly in Rowlandson’s works, there are moments of doubt.
In Bradstreet’s “Verses upon the burning of our House”, she turns to God in her moment of need, trusts Him and accepts His will despite the suffering and distress it might bring her. She does, however, admit (and regret) that she had grown attached to her material possessions and considered them her own and instead of God’s, who created them and gave them to her, and thus, is allowed to take them back. She feels sorrow over the loss of her physical possessions and the feelings they brought her and others, but then remembers no ephemeral earthly possessions compare to the eternal kingdom of Heaven, and that if God took them, it had to be a lesson or a punishment.
Rowlandson seems to have a more complicated relationship with the Lord. She claims “God showed mercy to her” despite her being “careless of God’s holy time” and deserving to be punished (page 52) but also that she thought “there was no mercy for her, that the blessings were gone, and the curses come in their room” (page 54), revealing a feeling of having been saved but also abandoned by God. She also struggles to accept her child’s death and doesn’t seem to think it is now at peace in Heaven and suffers no longer, a reaction unexpected of a Puritan woman. She seems to be unsure of why God’s actions lead her to her current situation, expecting Him to “show her a token for good”.
Despite these falterings, neither of them abandon their faith and they continue to place their trust in God in the face of adversity.
River
Analyzing Bradstreet's writings, we realize that Anne is a simple woman, devout and conformed to the time in which she lived, but not necessarily in a bad way.
With the poem “Before the Birth of one of her children”, we see a simple but emotional farewell from a woman to her husband, if she dies in childbirth.
It's fascinating because, for the time, where dying while giving birth was common, we don't know of these women's written farewells, much less in poems.
With the poem “Verses upon the burning of our house”, we see a sincere devotion to God and humility before Him. What was lost in the fire was not essential, as one always has a home with God. We see here a portrait of the Puritan faith as we know it today.
By writing these poems, Bradstreet shows us the reality of women in Puritan society; the fears, thoughts and faith they possessed.
Mary Rowlandson's writings, despite being reports of a tragedy, are no less important. We see extreme courage in Mary, as she writes about the trauma she went through, about her faith and her doubts. At the time, the best option for a woman expressing a crisis of faith was to be banished from society. When writing about God (and this writing being published), about him giving us strength, we realized that, contrary to what we were taught, women were more respected than we thought.
Therefore, I don't think that any of these women transgress society's roles or conform. The simple fact that they write shows that they want to understand their present, the traumas they have. They show us that they are, simply, human.
Maria Costa
Although “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” (1884) by Tom Sawyer and the writings by Anne Bradstreet and Mary Rowlandson are set in distinct historical times and explore significantly different matters, if we dare to look carefully, we can find common themes in Sawyer’s novel and Bradstreet’s and Rowlandson’s works.
First of all, the topic of religion can be found in the writings of these three authors. In the “Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration” we can see how religion plays a crucial role in Rowlandson’s life as a Puritan. Throughout the several removes, we can see how God helped Rowlandson to bear her captivity with patience, since she believed in God's Providence, and how everything He does has a reason and a purpose (“But the Lord renewed my strength still, and carried me along, that I might see more of His power” – The Second Remove). She looks back at her sins and her carelessness in the past and her moment of self-examination ends with the expression of gratitude (“as He wounded me with one hand, so He healed me with the other" – The Third Remove).
In “Verses upon the Burning of our House” Bradstreet also shows her devotion to God. In the circumstances of seeing her house being burned and destroyed, she calls out God for help (“And to my God my heart did cry”). And although she admits to feel pain and despair for the loss of her belongings, she soon realizes that the materialistic things do not matter at the end of the day and are merely superficial (“Adieu, Adieu, All's Vanity”). Towards the end of the poem, Bradstreet understands that the “hope” and “treasure” that are waiting for her in the afterlife are far more important than her earthily belongings, choosing to trust God, the “mighty Architect”.
In “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, Miss Watson and Widow Douglas try to explain the importance of praying and religion to Huckleberry Finn. Miss Watson claims that whatever Huck Finn asked for he would get it. Huck Finn tried to ask for material things, but never got what he asked for, making him question the efficiency of the prayers (“I tried for the hooks three or four times, but somehow I couldn’t make it work”- Chapter III). The widow ends up explaining to him that praying would help him spiritually, rather than materialistically, and that Huckleberry Finn should focus on helping others, rather than himself (“I must help other people, and do everything I could for other people, and look out for them all the time, and never think about myself”- Chapter III). However, Huckleberry Finn could not quite see the advantage of taking on this selfless approach in life.
In the three texts mentioned above, religion is present, although in different manners. Bradstreet and Rowlandson clearly have a similar view on religion, as they were both Puritan women. Huckleberry Finn is skeptical about religion, probably because of his upbringing, as he is apparently being introduced, for the first time, to the importance and meaning of religious practices.
Second of all, Huckleberry Finn and Mary Rowlanson both share their thoughts about nature and the wilderness, having very distinct perspectives. Huck Finn finds comfort in the woods and even runs away from home several times either to reflect (“I went out in the woods and turned it over in my mind a long time, but I couldn’t see no advantage about it” – Chapter III) or to run away from his violent father (“I used to take to the woods most of the time when he was around” – Chapter III).
On the other hand, Rowlandson sees the wilderness as a “vast and desolate” place. Her negative view on nature is probably due to the situation she was in, as she was kidnapped and injured by the Indigenous population, and was living under very difficult conditions, psychologically and physically.
- It continues...
The rest of my comment:
Lastly, the topic of writing is present in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, and Bradstreet’s and Rowlandson’s works.
As mentioned before, Bradstreet and Rowlandson, seem to have a more educated background, due to their religious upbringing. Huckleberry Finn, on the other hand, claims to have only started to learn how to write and read recently (“Well three or four months run along, and it was well into the winter now. I had been to school most all the time and could spell and read and write just a little” – Chapter IV). Moreover, Huck Finn also makes spelling mistakes, writing “sivilize” (Chapter I), instead of “civilize”.
However, although different tones, styles and forms are used in the literary texts of Bradstreet, Rowlandson and Twain, writing has an important role as a storytelling instrument inside their texts, always keeping in mind that Bradstreet and Rowlandson are real historical figures and Huckleberry Finn is a fictional character created by Tom Sawyer.
In conclusion, despite the differences between the “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration” and “Verses upon the Burning of our House” we can see how these three literary works share common themes, from the presence of religion, to the comfort or fear of nature, and to the importance of writing as a narrative instrument.
- Beatriz Bicudo Cunha
Although Anne Bradstreet and Marry Rowlandson use traditionally religious references as in The Burning of our House, the 14th verse "I blest His name that gave and took," or in The Captivity "[...]He wounded me with one hand, so he healed me with the other." both authors may also portray signs of an early feminism, which is a rather disruptive feature considering the Puritan doctrines of male superiority. In her sixth verse "Let no man know is my Desire." Anne Bradstreet uses gendered language, a choice that could indicate to some extent defiance of societal norms and sexism.
Meanwhile, in The Captivity, the author portrays a heroine enduring the cruelty of men and, despite the desperate circumstances, her enormous strength and resilience are evident in her vengeful spirit quoting a scripture as "[...] the Lord would gather us together, and turn all those curses upon our enemies.". Not to forget, her resolve to live even after the painful death of her child "the wonderful goodness of God to me in preserving me in the use of my reason [...] that I did not use wicked and violent means to end my own miserable life". In the latter case, the word 'reason' must not go unnoticed, specially due to the aforementioned Puritan prejudice towards women who were deigned less capable of rationality and, therefore, supposed to be forever submissive to the authority of men, father or husband alike. By depicting such a strong woman, one who bravely faces all the trials and tribulations brought upon her on her journey to salvation, Marry Rowlandson loudly challenges the Puritan stereotypes of women.
Notwithstanding these traits that could be considered aberrant to religious fundamentalists, both authors were undeniably women of strong beliefs. For instance, Anne Bradstreet ends her poem about the burning of her house with “My hope and treasure lies above” which is another brilliant example of a woman’s courage in the face of a huge predicament, as in verses 36-41 “Adieu, Adieu, all’s vanity. [...] And did thy wealth on earth abide?[...] Raise up thy thoughts above the sky” the author, despite the sorrowful loss of her house finds comfort in her faith and reasoning that her salvation does not rely on the material assets she calls "vanity ". Finally, a similar resolve may also be remarked in The Captivity, as Marry Rowlandson shares her bravery with the struggling pregnant woman through the reading of the biblical passage “‘Wait on the Lord, Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine Heart, wait I say on the Lord’”. (post by Cecilia Ferreira Marques)
Anne Bradstreet and Mary Rowlandson are both Puritan women of the 17th century. Both have works published works at the time. Anne has poems and Mary wrote “A narrative of captivity and restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” about her experience as a captive by the Indians. It can be said just by writing their feelings and experiences that they were transgressing their roles as women in their epoch. At the time, women were not allowed intellectual active (…) due to the fertility of feminine reason. Women were allowed to learn how to read and write but only for religious purposes.
Religion plays a fundamental role in Puritanism. Pain and privations are seen as part of a lesson. “I blest His name that gave and took” (line 14, page 5) is a perfect representation of God to Puritans.
Puritans believe that excessive mourning can disrupt the community. This can be observed in both women. Mary mourns the loss of her baby, mentioning that “God having taken away this dear child.” (page 10). Throughout Anne’s poem, she renounces human material ownership - “was His own, it was not mine,” (line 17 page 5). She admits how upset she is that her house burned – “When by the ruins oft I past/My sorrowing eyes aside did cast” (lines 31/32, page 5) – and how she will miss it.
In conclusion, while they both on the path to piety and try to conform to their assigned roles, it can be seen through their writing the moments of doubt and fragility.
Both Rowlandson and Bradstreet’s texts revolve around God, their relationship with the Creator and how these women cope with losing their children or their family home. To me, this shows the importance that God has in their lives, being the center of their thought despite the most horrific situations.
Analyzing Rowlandson’s faith, I find it interesting that the words about her children (such has “child”, “daughter”, “son” or “Sarah”) and “God”/”Lord” appear, both, many times throughout “The Narrative of Captivity”, but her references to faith manage to outnumber the ones about her children. This shows that her societal role as a Puritan was an even heavier responsibility than her role as a mother.
I must sit all this cold winter night upon the cold snowy ground, with my sick child in my arms, looking that every hour would be the last of its life; and having no Christian friend near me, either to comfort or help me. Oh, I may see the wonderful power of God, that my Spirit did not utterly sink under my affliction: still the Lord upheld me with His gracious and merciful spirit, and we were both alive to see the light of the next morning. (The Second Remove)
Rowlandson’s adoration is confirmed when she finds a Bible during her days in captivity:
I cannot but take notice of the wonderful mercy of God to me in those afflictions, in sending me a Bible (The Third Remove). This book is what keeps the author alive, meaning, she relies on her faith to survive the captive time. Being a woman in the 17th Century, maternity was the pinnacle of purpose, but Rowlandson’s writing reveals that, even though she loves her children and is devastated by the death of her daughter, her connection to the Lord was what shaped her essence and what allowed her to not end her life.
(Maria Beatriz Oliveira, continues...)
Anne Bradstreet has a similar connection to faith. Although Bradstreet is not dealing with the loss of her children, she loses her family house. This house represents more than a couple of walls and a roof, this is the place where her good memories lie (There lay that store I counted best: My pleasant things in ashes lye, And them behold no more shall I/ No pleasant tale shall 'ere be told, Nor things recounted done of old. No Candle 'ere shall shine in Thee, Nor bridegroom's voice ere heard shall bee).
The poem has a sad and revolting tone along the verses, i.e, although she lost her house and the memories that lived in it and clearly expresses concern about her material goods, Bradstreet tells herself that there’s still Heaven, God’s greatest house. Much like Rowlandson, the Lord is her reliability; the reason that she “survives” this terrible event. And, like Rowlandson, although the house represents her memories and her life as a dedicated mother and wife, her relationship with the scriptures is even greater than that.
Both authors show traits of Puritan women; they are devoted to their relationship with God and the scriptures, leading them to believe that what they lost, their family members or their family house, is a sign of a bigger purpose. For Rowlandson, being captive and losing her family is her reminder that she mustn’t be troubled “from smaller matters” and should focus on being a servant to God (The Lord hath showed me the vanity of these outward things. That they are the vanity of vanities, and vexation of spirit, that they are but a shadow, a blast, a bubble, and things of no continuance. That we must rely on God Himself, and our whole dependance must be upon Him. If trouble from smaller matters begin to arise in me, I have something at hand to check myself with). For Bradstreet, losing her house is a reminder that her “real” home is Heaven and not the place she lived in (Thou hast a house on high erect/Frameed by that mighty Architect/With glory richly furnished/Stands permanent though this be fled…My hope and treasure lies above.)
(Maria Beatriz Oliveira, concluding)
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