Puritans In The 19th Century

Nathaniel Hawthorne, in his bold novel, The Scarlet Letter tackles a variety of themes that include: sin, guilt, redemption, postfeminism, and organized religion's abuse of power. Hawthorne spoke in a somber and grim tone, designed to arouse a sense of suspense for his readers. The audience in which he was addressing would have been conservative Christians and women suffragettes, all of whom reflected the ideologies during this time period. By instilling clever diction, Hawthorne exposes hypocrisy in Puritanism and objects against the religion's superfluous punishments; which force individuals to endure unnecessary and extreme suffering.

In early 1600's, Puritans followed the Pilgrims to America then they landed in Massachusetts bay. The Puritans started the colony because they wanted to escape religious persecution. The only religion was the Puritans.In the early 1600's of, Massachusetts there was only one Indian tribe,and that was the Wampanoag. Puritans tried to purify the Anglican church because they wanted to make services simpler and taking ranks of authority

English Protestants created a large group of people in the 16th and 17th centuries called the Puritans. These people advocated strict religious discipline along with a strong beliefs and worshipping. The Scarlet Letter reflected on Puritan Society in several ways, from religion to discipline and punishment. Religion seemed to control everyone, the reverend was the person that everyone looked up to, and the community, as a whole, believed in fate and destiny. Puritan relationships were very restricted, therefore making adultery a terrible sin in the eyes of the community. In the 17th century, Boston was extremely strict and the laws were strongly enforced, making Hester’s sin a great

When the Puritan came to the New World after being rejected in England for their beliefs, they knew the demand of perfection in God’s eyes could never be fully accomplish. Humans could never live up to the standards that God set out. After settling in New England, the Puritan became well aware they needed to have law enforcement with religious obligations, and most importantly the sexual temptations. Knowing that human could never fully obey God’s word and always be tempted, the puritans enforced certain punishments for certain sexual crimes, including fornication, adultery, rape and buggery or sodomy.

The Puritans were a religious group who left the Church of England because they wanted to have more freedom with their religion. They thought the Church of England was “too Catholic”. They believed the Bible and its rules were the number one thing to go by and that all humans were evil and had to overcome their sin. Women had to cover their whole bodies in clothing. They couldn’t show their ankles or wrists. They also had to wear their hair up and out of their face at all times, except if they were in a room alone with only their husband. They always were on one side of the church away from the men or in the back on the church. These women in the society that will be talked about have broken laws and have been misjudged.

The Puritans were a religious group of people who came from England to America in the 1600’s. As Protestants, they relied heavily on the Bible as the guide for every part of their lives. They used these biblical principles as the basis for their laws and marriage. The Puritans had very strict rules about how men and women should act in a marriage and had very harsh penalties for those who broke these rules. According to Matthew Glass and Edward Queen, “During the Colonial Period, Protestant Americans viewed sex as a fundamental feature of married life, enabling reproduction as well as providing an outlet for feelings.” Because they felt this was an important part of marriage, the Puritan laws were meant to be followed. As society gained more people, sex became more widespread which made the officials of the church look for more ways to stop the desire to do anything. Overall, the Puritans had meticulous standards for individuals, immoderate laws and punishments, habits and daily life which were strictly formed by decisive ways.

The Puritans belief set is simple: If you commit a sin, you are guilty and punished by execution. The Patriarchy, which is a system, society or government in which the father or eldest male is head of the family and descent is traced through the male line, is the foundation of this religion. Women could be guilty of almost anything if a man accused her of it. The governing council is only made up of men and they keep a strict hold on everyone in the community. Their harsh laws are based off of the Old Testament. “In Hawthorne's story Governor Bellingham and his fellow magistrates used this vision not only to unite the community, but to control, by humiliation, banishment, or death, any wayward member” (Hodges 5). This way of thinking ensued fear into women. They were taught to never speak out or act in any unholy manner. So, when Hester gave birth to a child who did not belong to her husband, she was no longer treated with any respect. “Thus the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with the

In the 1600s there were a certain group of people that took up a vast majority of the population this group was called the Puritans. The Puritans were a strictly religious group of people who had a very strict interpretation of bible and they believed anything as long as they believed it was God's’ will to be done, they only did what the bible could tell them to do, or if they preformed anything different than what was lead to be by the bible they were punished. They had so many restrictions on the littlest of things just like dancing, no fancy clothing and no smoking. But they did have restrictions on pretty big things as well like you can’t miss church no matter what even if someone were to be sick, people had to pay to celebrate christmas.

The 17th century Puritans were known to represent a religious group migrating from England to America in order to practice religious freedom. These groups were determined to “purify” churches of England from Catholic practices. Puritans are known for their religious, social, and political influences on early America. Edmund S. Morgan’s novel The Puritan Family highlights a part of history that many would tend to look over upon- that is, the complex structural life of Puritan Families in the 17th century.

Puritans in England didn't like the English Church and wanted to practice their own religion, so they moved to Holland. It wasn’t what the Puritans were looking for, so 102 of them boarded the Mayflower in 1620, and landed at Plymouth under the lead of William Bradford. On the ship, the people on board wrote the governing document that would be put into place after they landed. Native Americans taught the Pilgrims how to farm and survive in the new world, which lead to the first Thanksgiving. 10 years later, a second group of Puritans followed the Pilgrims, under John Winthrop. Massachusetts was self-governing with some influence from the Bible.

Church was the cornerstone of the Puritan society in early America. In their efforts to create the ideal Christian society, their rigid religious beliefs in Old Testament methods was the basis for many of their harsh laws and punishments. Their everyday lives were dedicated to God and was seen as a struggle between God and the devil. Any act against God was considered a crime and public shame, humiliation, and punishment was used as a powerful tool for social conformity. Just as not following the Ten Commandants was punishable by law; a person could be subject to various forms of punishment for unacceptable social behavior such as having long hair, skipping church, swearing, sleeping during a sermon, gossiping, disrespecting your parents,

In their society the Puritans based their lives, beliefs, and communities on what they deemed as God's law and true word, the bible (Barger). Reading the bible was expected for the members of society, this included women and children, which was often unheard of (Foner 66) at that time. With their lives being restricted to the word of the bible this left very little leeway for anything other than what was deemed acceptable, and this rigid way of life was another straw that led to the eventual troubles and fervor that took over.

Puritans were displayed accurately in the novel and punished in the same ways, from public humiliation to hanging. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne took place in the Puritan town of Boston. While her husband was away, Hester Prynne was convicted of adultery and sentenced to public humiliation. A letter A was to be worn at all times as a symbol of the sin she committed. As a result if this sin Perl was born.

Hawthorne’s work takes America’s Puritan past as its subject, but The Scarlet Letter uses the material to the greatest effect. The Puritans were

Puritanism was a religious movement that began in the late sixteenth century. The puritans were a group of reformed protestants who sought to “purify” the Church of England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. However, puritanism was not just a historical movement, it was a lifestyle that the puritans brought to New England. Puritanism can be defined by predestination, calling, covenant, Protestant ethic, and conversion.