Suffer Not a Woman to Speak (R)

The author of “Suffer Not a Woman to Speak” exploits the two most significant periods of time for colonial women. We see how women were originally treated due to stereotypes such as the Christian story of Adam and Eve. Since Eve succumbed to the “devil’s word” before Adam did, it was assumed that women were more susceptible to sin than men. Another stereotype forced upon women of this era was the overwhelming job as wife, mother, housekeeper, and basically slave. In the household, the common colonial woman was expected to follow her husband’s orders strictly, stay out of trouble, and to raise her children into active members of society. The author uses the term “femme coverte” to define this idea of “hidden woman”. In interpretation to this part of the text, I see the colonial woman as the “shadow” of her husband. She trails behind him but keeps to herself, almost as if she supposed to be made of thin air.

The author pointed out that during the Salem Witch Trials a surprisingly high number of women confessed to performing witchcraft. While many of these women were dubbed mentally ill, others had convinced themselves into sins they had not committed. They did this as a way to “accept and transcend the idea of their own sinfulness”. This type of morbid personality is described by the author as excessively sensitive, and can also be seen as mind consuming. The only women who were partially saved from this abusive behavior were those of Quaker descent. Unlike Calvinists and Protestants, Quaker women were given the same education as men, the right to speak out, and to run their own religious meetings (as long as they followed the same general belief as the church).

In comparison to the earlier time period just discussed, the era of the Revolutionary War brought change to almost all women. Suddenly, women were appreciated for their efforts in the war (from their homes as well as in the battlefield). The chapter titled, “Remember the Ladies”, acknowledges some of the efforts made by women such as the Daughters of Liberty, whom participated in the boycotting of British products without the use of violence. The author also gives examples of some of these feminine boycotts, homespun cloth instead of British imported materials and home-made herbs instead of English tea. These two goods were boycotted specifically in the Edenton Proclamation, created by a group of 51 women in Edenton, North Carolina. However, it was not only boycotting that the women participated in. One of the most intellectual women of the Revolutionary time, Mercy Otis Warren, used a fake male name to get her political pamphlets published. Her works were admired and read by many intellectuals, but would they have taken the time to consider her opinion if she had written under her real gender? Most likely not, thanks to the presumptuous ideals of religious leaders and politicians alike. Another woman who secretly contributed to her country’s revolutionary success was Molly Hays. Molly joined her husband, John Casper Hays, in the deadly battle of Monmouth Courthouse; but when her husband collapsed from exhaustion, she took his place at the gun and proceeded to fire the cannon at the enemy while also nursing her husband‘s health. For this heroic deed, Molly Hays was rewarded an army pension for “services rendered in the Revolutionary War.”

In conclusion, the author compares and contrasts these two different periods of hardship not to list the grievances of colonial women, but to show their overall process as contributors to America as a whole. Before the Revolutionary War, women had no real value to them for they were simply taken advantage of. Their husbands were legally allowed to steal from their wives and refuse them food, clothing, or shelter at any given time. In contrast, during the time of the war the role of women transferred from the home and church, into leadership jobs and even into the battlefield. Even if the Revolutionary War did not physically provide them with freedom, the new mindset taken on by colonial women prepared them for the visibly significant changes of the future.