Langone 1 Jessica Langone Professor Farrah Cato AML 3031 February 24, 2015 Bradstreet: What does it mean to be a Woman? “If ever two were one, then surely we. If ever man were loved by wife, then thee.” ― ​
Anne Bradstreet​
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To My Husband and Other Poems Anne Bradstreet was a wife, a mother, a daughter, a grandmother, a writer, a puritan woman, a worshiper, and a genius. She was a woman who, like every woman, had many roles in her life. She expresses the nature of these roles in her writing, which is a monumental accomplishment for the writing of her time. Bradstreet was an educated, puritan woman, who honoured her father and her family, who held great love for her husband, and who was interested in the importance of women in her society. In a period where the majority of the writing was journals and travel narratives, Bradstreet’s poetry allowed for her readers to grasp a meaning of the world around them in an artistic and metaphorical sense, as opposed to relating a narrative of her life. In her poetry she was able to explore her many ideas about love, life, god, and society, and the role women played in it. Anne Bradstreet was a genius in developing a sense of the multiple roles played by women in society of her time, and this sense is still relevant to the women of today. She best exemplifies her multifaceted life in her poem, “To Her Father with some Verses.” With the two voices that are simultaneously present in this particular piece, the reader grasps the feeling of both roles: Daughter and worshiper. This poem, as well as is the case with the majority of her Langone 2 work, also brings up the idea of a multitude of contact zones: between man and woman, father and daughter, god and worship, writer and writing, etc. A greater observation of Bradstreet’s multiple voices helps to understand her presentation of contact zones and their lasting impact. In her poem “To Her Father with some Verses” (Norton 215), Bradstreet develops two voices, one in which she is talking to her biological father and one that is talking to God. These two voices show two of the roles that Bradstreet had during her life. She was a literal daughter to Thomas Dudley, but also a daughter of the lord and within this role was also a good puritan woman. To fully understand Bradstreet’s dualistic voice in “To Her Father with some Verses,” one can break down the poem almost line by line to locate the different points of view. Line one, “Most truly honoured, and as truly dear,” can be read in regards to her father, who she loves and reveres, but this can also be read as a most truly honoured God. Lines 2­4, “If worth in me or ought I do appear,/Who can of right better demand the same/Than may your worthy self from whom it came?” Bradstreet is saying that she owes her father, because he gave her the means of her education, making him worthy to receive her praise. In these lines, the voice of the worshiper is saying that no one is as worthy as God, and it is by God that she receives her talent in writing. Bradstreet goes on to say “The principal might yield a greater sum,/Yet handled ill, amounts but to this crumb;/My stock's so small I know not how to pay,/My bond remains in force unto this day;” (lines 5­8), in relation to the money her father has spent to ensure her a proper education. This standpoint is from the voice of the daughter, but looking at these lines from the standpoint of the worshiper they seem to be in relation to the life given to her by God. Langone 3 Responding to this recognition of the gifts bestowed upon Bradstreet by her two Fathers, lines 9­12 address her writing as a form of her repaying them. Lines 9 and 10, give this metaphor: “Yet for part payment take this simple mite,/Where nothing's to be had, kings loose their right,” describing the art of her writing as a form of payment, so that the gifts thrust upon Bradstreet would not have been given in vain. The image presented of her Fathers as “kings” also illuminate the passion in which Bradstreet has for them, and in this image the form of her work matches the message it holds: She is praising them in her work, which is the payment she implores them to receive. This idea is also held in the flowing lines, Bradstreet acknowledging “Such is my debt I may not say forgive,/But as I can, I'll pay it while I live;” (lines 11­2), allowing that she will do her best to repay her father with her writing. She also alludes to paying God for her life with her writing, but it can also be assumed she will pay him with her worship. In this same breath, Bradstreet realises that in this life, she will be unable to repay her two Fathers. She mentions in line 13 that she is the only one that can repay them, “Such is my bond, none can discharge but I,” her father with her writing, and God with both her writing and the way she lives her life through worship. In her conclusion, “Yet paying is not paid until I die”(line 14), Bradstreet declares that she will never be able to fully repay her father in this life, and in death she will be united with God, the ultimate payment. In this line, death itself assumes a contact zone, between Bradstreet, God, and her father, allowing that to be her true payment for all they have given her. Bradstreet’s eternal soul is the only payment she sees fit for her two Fathers, who gave her the life she has, which she is eternally grateful for. Bradstreet’s “To Her Father with some Verses” is a poem that reflects her multifaceted life by exemplifying the possibility for something to have more than one purpose. In this single, Langone 4 fourteen line poem, Bradstreet expresses two different sentiments entirely. Reading it twice, it can be two different poems, though it remains the same fourteen lines. The form of this poem and the message it carries is a written form of Bradstreet. It allows the reader to see on paper that a person has more than one role in society, and in their life. By expressing two of her different roles, daughter and worshiper, Bradstreet allows a greater understanding of the dualistic nature of people and allows the reader to explore many different contact zones. Reflecting on specific aspects of “To Her Father with some Verses,” recall the sentiment that Bradstreet pronounces God to be the author of her creative genius. This is a theme that constantly shows itself in Bradstreet’s writings, her talent coming by some lucky way. She mentions this also in her poem “The Prologue,” where she says “If what I do prove well, it won’t advance,/They’ll say it’s stol’n, or else it was by chance” (Norton 208, lines 29­30), meaning if her work is any good, which it proves to be, then people will say her talent came by external means. The constant reference of this theme by Bradstreet alludes to the contact zone between authoritative men and submissive women of the time; how women were seen as inferior to men. This contact zone in regards to today’s world has lessened, but not entirely dissolved, which allows for Bradstreet’s verses that satirize this contact zone to be applied to today’s society. This inspires conversation for why such a contact zone is still prevalent. The contact zone also introduced when Bradstreet plays on modesty in her prologue is between her and her writing, and with in this a branch that relates her writing to her readers, which can be related to the one between men and women. The contact zone between God and Bradstreet is another that appears in “To Her Father with some Verses,” but also in the majority of her work. Coming to the new world allowed for Langone 5 this particular contact zone for Bradstreet to evolve. Instead of meeting with God in a church, in the new world Bradstreet meets with him in nature. Due to this change, she is certain she has become closer to God. In “Contemplations,” Bradstreet describes the nature surrounding the new world and the feelings it evokes, how it is heavenly and beautiful. She says things like “Shall I then praise the heavens, the trees, the earth” (line 134) and “Soul of this world, this Universe’s Eye,/No wonder some made thee a Deity” (lines 26­7), alluding to the ethereal quality of the world around her, and contemplating the making of this wonderful world by God, the creator. She says “How full of glory then must thy Creator be?/Who gave this bright light luster unto thee” (lines 47­8) mentioning this contemplation and shining light on the relationship Bradstreet has now formed with God. This contact zone is highly prevalent in Bradstreet's community of Puritans, believing that they were his holy people, they felt a special connection to God which thoroughly separated them emotionally from the other people that came to the new world with them. The contact zone between God and man is one that has survived throughout the ages, and is still prevalent today. This is a contact zone that may never dissolve, since people are obsessed with life after death, which Bradstreet alludes to in the last stanza of contemplations: Nor wit, nor gold, nor buildings scape times rust; But he whose name is grav’d in the white stone Shall last and shine when all of these are gone (lines 230­3) Anne Bradstreet was a genius in developing a body of work that explored the many facets of life in an obscure way. Her multiple voices create tension in her work that allow for a greater understanding of the tension created in real life by the multiple roles people assume. Bradstreet’s voices also create a discussion around the many different contact zones that are Langone 6 experienced when assuming multiple roles in life. It is interesting when looking at a piece that is as truly dualistic in voice as “To Her Father with some Verses,” since the poem itself takes on the qualities of a person, and in this way exemplifies the complexity of life. The roles explored in this piece, as in many of Bradstreet’s writings, not only represent women of her day but women of the modern era. The multiplicity of roles assumed by today’s ladies is important to understand in terms of a society that fights so hard for equality. By understanding the voices and contact zones that are present in Bradstreet’s writing, it makes it easier to understand that people have many different roles to play­ that humans are not one dimensional­ and this matters because without the assumption of multiple roles society would not function, or in the very least it would be extremely dull. Langone 7 Works Cited Bradstreet, Anne. "To Her Father with Some Verses." ​
Norton Anthology of American Literature​
. 8th ed. Vol. A. New York: WW Norton & Company, Inc., 2012. 208­22. Print.