Scarlet Letter Research Paper

Women in Puritan society were strictly confined to traditional roles within their family and community. They were solely relegated to serve their husband and their household. Anne Hutchinson was a woman in that time period that rebelled against the traditional roles by standing up for her own thoughts. Hester Prynne, a fictional character in The Scarlet Letter, is a symbol of what Anne Hutchinson represents in Puritan history. Both women went against traditional beliefs and stood by them. Puritans believed in predestination which means Puritans believed “ in Jesus and participation in the sacraments could not alone effect one 's salvation; one cannot choose salvation, for that is the privilege of God alone.” (Campbell 1). In other words, when a person is born, it has already been determined by God if you are saved or if you are damned. Puritans also believed in the Covenant, which is a contract with God. Puritan churches did not require residents to be full members of the church. Puritans believed that a church did not need to consist of everyone but of the elect. ( Campbell 1 ) In Puritan society, men had a place in a system while women served as secondary subjects to their husbands. Women were also seen as beneath men intellectually. Women were placed beneath male children in terms of smarts. (Smith 4) Men only married women so they could birth offspring. Men that were ready to be married were told “not to expect too much from her.” (Bruno 1) Marriage in Puritan society was more of a contract than a religious sacrament. Daughters were married at a very young age, usually by the time they were in their early twenties, in order to bear many children (New England 1). Women had as many as eight to ten children, sometimes more.(Marchaud 1). While the patriarch of the family’s roles included managing crops and livestock, conducting business transactions and representing it to the government, women were supposed to bear, nurse and rear the children. Women spent

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