The time was the seventeenth century, and the values were Puritan. Anne Bradstreet was born and married into prestige and political connections. This led to her rise as an all powerful and classical poet. One of the very first in American culture, Bradstreet penned many a missive on taboos of her time including questioning God in a God fearing society. However, an ideal that was common with her religious culture and in turn permeated her writing was female subservience to men. This ideal is a direct antithesis to today's culture of young women and the cultures of times passed.
Woman's submission to man has been proven to be a theory that is uneducated, obsolete and hypocritical. To make reference to another human being as being less then another with the only basis being gender is scientifically inadequate. If this concept were true would a woman be able to hold the same position as a man? The answer is a resounding no. There would be no female senators, governors, teachers or world leaders because they would not be able to handle the stress without a man's guidance to lead them. The antiquation of female submission is also obvious. With the fiscal options allotted to many families today a woman often wears the proverbial pants in the family and works as much if not more than her husband (If indeed she is married). The hypocrisy is almost laughable, and it has been demonstrated throughout history. A woman is expected on numerous occasions to do whatever a man tells her to do at the time he asks her to do so. For example in 1940's America at the time of World War II, many men were called away to battle. With no man there to hold .
down the household, who was to earn a living and manage affairs? The answer is the wives and mothers. Thus, there is the beginning of a new found independence or a wake up call among women. .
Many generations have fought for a voice in our history. From Mary Wollstonecraft's Vindication of the rights of women to the works of Gloria Steinem, Anne Bradstreet has been contested indirectly.