Essay On Puritan Women

In the early 16th century, a ship reached Cape Cod shores and out stepped a large number of puritans that today, to the average American, they would be called pilgrims. When one thinks of the pilgrims, they will think of how they were one of the first people to colonize on the East coast and of the men and women who feasted with the Indians nearly 400 years ago. Despite the time difference between the two cultures, puritan and contemporary American society are similar in regards to our laws and punishment, they differ concerning the views on marriage and women in society. Both 16th century puritan settlements and modern American cities deal with a vast amount of citizens who commit or attempt to commit rape, adultery and fornication. The societies are similar in regards to how they had a hard time maintaining the law and punishing the criminals of these illicit actions. Due to the inability to learn of the truth, the puritans would be lenient on handing out the
While the average American parents try to give their children the freedom to choose their own lifelong partner, the puritan parents would marry the children off young so as to prevent their children from committing fornication or other types of sins. These views on marriage confirm with the different societies ideals; for modern America, it’s the idea of freedom and for puritans, it’s the idea of not sinning and honoring God. For the puritans, divorce was not an option. They had laws that forced the couple to stay together while for current American citizens, they could have an unlimited number of divorces. This is another way the puritans prevented themselves from committing sins. The difference in the ideas of freedom and oppression in the two societies are also apparent in their views of