Criticisms are always equivocal whenever critics judge a
writer by standards of their age or another age other than that of the writer. Such
seems to be the case with Gilbert and Gubar who suggest that Anne Bradstreet has somehow
compromised her authorial voice and her art.
In order to be
fair to any artist, we must always consider the era in which this artist exists. Anne
Bradstreet was first and foremost a devout Puritan, and as she raised her eight
children, she somehow found time to write poetry, but she did not seek an audience or
publication. When her brother-in-law, John Woodbridge, published her poetry unbeknowst
to Mrs. Bradstreet, her position in the Puritan community was somewhat comprimised as
she was perceived as being rather arrogant to aspire to a place among the august company
of established male poets.
Today, Anne Bradstreet is
remembered best for her simple, personal lyrics about her family and her love for her
husband. For, the tenderness and poignancy of these poems touch deeply many a reader as
Mrs. Bradstreet accepted freely her position as wife and mother in the Puritan
community. In addition, there is an inner strength of the poet that emanates from these
poems, not a weakness or "pose of modesty." Instead, her humility is from her deep
religious faith and acceptance of her role as wife and
mother.
And, since Puritan women were expected to be
reserved, domestic, and subservient to their husbands and not expected or allowed to
exhibit their intelligence or wit or charm or passion, Mrs. Bradstreet seems rather
bold, if anything, in her authorial voice:
I prize thy love more than whole Mines of
gold,
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such
that Rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee, give
recompence.
Of course, one
must always remember that since Mrs. Bradstreet never intended for her poems to have
been published, the ones about her family were of any extremely personal
nature.
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