Puritan ideals in colonial America reflected the cultural attitude and Essay

prude ideals in colonial the States reflected the pagan attitude and defined the role of women in their society - Essay ExampleChoosing to be a mavin woman was considered by the prudes to be disregarding Gods will. These women were looked upon suspiciously and this choice heightened the chance that they would be accused of being a witch. This discussion will examine the role of women in colonial America and how the religious Puritanical system of the time defined womens rights and duties within that society.Puritan women were prevented from owning property they could not negotiate their own contracts or even keep any of their own wages. Before the middle of the 19th century, the property rights of American married women followed the dictates of common law, under which everything a woman owned became her husbands property upon her marriage (Married Womens Property Acts, n.d.). These restrictions on what a woman could do or own were partly due to the fact that most women were not co nsidered intelligent enough to consider exclusively the consequences involved in managing business or political situations. Women also played the subordinate role in defining the familys religious beliefs.The observed religious traditions that guided the patriarchal family order allowed wives only a small authoritative role within the family unit. For instance, mothers were trusted and expected to pass along the teachings of the Puritans and Christianity to the children. Husbands could, and often did, provide their wives to handle various legal and financial matters of the household or family farm but the extent of business office the wife possessed always remained at her husbands discretion. Wives that happily accepted their role and conformed to Puritan societal standards were openly referred to and addressed as goodwife. However, the authoritative figure in the family and throughout all facets of Puritan society was clearly the man. The only role that wives served in the male dominated public psyche