Elizabeth Fuller And Anne Bradstreet - 1235 Words

Two-hundred years is a sizeable gap of time that allows plenty of room for change. American society had been rapidly changing from the early seventeenth century to the late nineteenth century, but despite this, the roles and rights of women have remained locked in place. There were many factors to consider as to why women were not allowed to flourish in their time and exceed these boundaries, and while some accepted it, there were many that opposed and faced these difficulties head on. Two female authors, one from colonial times, and one from nineteenth century America, have written about the obstacles and misogyny they’ve overcome in a male dominated literary career. Despite the two-hundred-year gap between the lives of Margaret Fuller and Anne Bradstreet, they both face issues regarding the static stereotype that women are literarily inferior and subservient handmaids to men. During the seventeenth century, when Puritan society had migrated to what is now Massachusetts, Puritans were proud of the patriarchal society they established; they believed themselves to be â€Å"Old Testament patriarchs (Westerkamp 573).† From this, they believed the husband to be the leader of the home, and for the wife to be not a person, but an important factor in maintaining a functioning society. There was no regard to the factor itself if society was functioning properly (Westerkamp, 574). This is the basis of the Puritan patriarchy that Bradstreet had skillfully faced during her lifetime.Show MoreRelatedBrief Survey of American Literature3339 Words   |  14 Pagesfounder of Jamestown, Virginia; Pocahontas - John Winthrop, â€Å"A Model of Christian Charity†: â€Å"†¦ We shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us†¦Ã¢â‚¬  - William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation (1630-50, pub. 1856) - Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672), The Tenth Muse (1650), the first volume of poems published by a resident of the New World - Edward Taylor (1642- 1729), Preparatory Meditations (1682-1725, pub. 1939, 1960) - Mary Rowlandson (1636-1711), A Narrative of the