. . your conscience you may keep to yourself, but if in this cause you shall countenance and encourage those that thus transgress the Law, you must be called in question for it." .
The "Testimony from the Trial of Anne Hutchinson, 1637" also provides insight into attitudes towards women in Massachusetts Bay during this period. Anne Hutchinson is described as "more bold than a man, though in understanding and judgement, inferiour to many women." By questioning the doctrine of good works espoused by the preachers in the colony, Hutchinson offended not only the clergy who sought to keep dissent from creeping into the society, but also caused others to view her in a negative light because she violated the standards of normal behavior for women in Colonial America. In describing Hutchinson, the writer of the testimony paints her as a woman who "cunningly dissembled" and "easily insinuated herself into the affections of many." These phrases could just as easily describe Satan himself!.
The language used in addressing the charges against Hutchinson demonstrates the need for maintaining order within the community in Massachusetts Bay. Hutchinson is accused of having "a great share in the causes of our public disturbances" and "sowing seditions amongst us." Further, the court accused Anne Hutchinson of transgressing the "Law of God" by breaking "the fifth Commandment, which commands us to honour Father and Mother, which includes all in authority. . ." (emphasis added). In Colonial Massachusetts, law and authority, church and state, and individuals and society as a whole were intricately woven together to form a utopian community.
Other documents show a similar attitude towards the law of God and the importance of rendering due respect to authority. Colonist John Pond's stay in Massachusetts Bay gave him a new sense of humility in his dealings with his parents. Pond admits that at one time he was an "undutiful child," who failed to properly honor his father and mother, but he now trusts that God will guide him in this relationship so that he will "never offend [his father] any more.
