"Suffer Not a Woman to Speak" (R)

In the article “Suffer Not a Woman to Speak”, women are described as clearly subordinate to men. They suffered many disadvantages and stereotypes, mainly in religious and political issues.

Women have always assumed the subordinate role to men in the home, the church, and in the law. Religious stereotypes set from the Bible placed women in this position. The Church has dedicated political and religious positions strictly for men. Women were seen to have fallen in sin and sit at the feet of the man. However, Anne Hutchinson stepped outside traditional religious lines and began holding her own meetings at her home. Puritan leaders allowed, but did not like, her doing this. Hutchinson disobeyed her one requirement to abide by Puritan standards, and began teaching radical ideas fro her time. She was exiled. Once she began to teach her own ideas not supported by the Puritan church, men did not approve. This punishment was appropriate for the time; so I can not disagree with the decisions of the Puritan society. While my personal beliefs on women do not support Puritan views of women, I can not disagree with the actions of that community as they were appropriate fro historical context and values.

Women assumed subordinate roles in law and politics during the colonial period. They had not gained suffrage and in some regards they had as few of rights as slaves. Civil rights differed between single and married women. Single women were given rights to protect and sustain her. On the other hand, married women were tied to the man completely. Their individual rights were non-existent. Her husband controlled her finances, her duties within the family, and her property. These values were commonly accepted for the time period and disputes were either uncommon or easily beaten down. Modern women, including myself would disagree with the treatment of women in the law and society during the 1800’s. However a part of my mind can accept their point of view. The men were brought up in a patriarchal society dominated all by men. Women always had these roles and there was no reason for them to change. While women had a right to civil liberties and just treatment, for the time period those were radical and unrealistic ideas.

My personal viewpoint on women does not favor the subordination of women; however I can not dispute the values of the era and understand why women had these roles in law and politics. Women have made great progress since colonial society and today have lost much of their subordinate homemaker stereotype. There is still not complete gender equality; but, the progress gained can be linked to radicals of their time, such as Anne Hutchinson. Women will continue to gain political, religious, and social independence and equality as modern social values continue to evolve. The status of women in society, even today, is determined by the events of the time. For Anne Hutchinson’s time, she was a radical and did not conform to the view of women as a homemaker. Today women are still not equal to men, such as in the business world. As society changes, so will the status of women and all other social groups.