In the article, it states, “Most restrictions on dress which were imposed were for purposes of class differentiation rather than for ascetic reasons” (Wilson). This statement showed that you would be TABLE to see what social class they were in just by their appearance. People of a higher class were TABLE to wear their hair long. They were also TABLE to wear gold or silver lace, silk or tiffany hoods, and also scarves. If you were in a lower class, you were not given all of these privileges. Other than clothing, sex was a major part of their culture.
Sex, to the puritans, was not something to do as pleasure, but simply a method for a couple to reproduce. Marriage and sex went hand in hand for most puritans. You were not allowed to act out sexually unless you too were married. Though this was a strict rule they lived by, the puritans were still very religious and believe in the forgiveness of sins. It states that there were “literally hundreds of confessions of premarital sexual relations in the extant church records Wilson This I think is a strong statement that shows the puritans had very strict rules, but understood people sin.
Though they do forgive sin, there are some things that the puritans cautioned and legislated. Being drunk is something that the puritans looked down upon and tried to control. Drinking socially was accepTABLE, but when people became too drunk, problems became prevalent. When they would go off and play cards, drinking became part of the game and people would get trashed, which to puritans, is not accepTABLE behavior. Alongside drinking, dancing was a topic of interest in which they questioned its purity.
They allowed dancing between both sexes, but only if they were to “not become lascivious” (28) in the act. Besides these rules, they had great views on human nature. They viewed human nature as something to live by. You must live by the bible, and if you do against it, you should be punished for these sins. You were to live to respect not only others, but also yourself. With these believes, they had a sense of self-righteousness and wholeness. Most puritans would be classified as individualists. They show this because they view life as a one way road.
They want things to be one way, which is the way of their bible. They believe that those who believe in God will follow his path and never veer towards another. Being individualists give them many of them certain attitude towards reason. This allowed the children to go to school in Massachusetts. Influencing puritans, they felt education went hand in hand with religion and it was something you must do. Being educated meant you can go further in life and that you could be a better well rounded person.
In this article I learned that puritans have many views, rules, and guidelines. All of these go alongside the views of the bible. I can use this in reference to later chapters because religion is a major part of our countries history. Puritans are those who follow the law, and believe that you should do well in this world. They are religious, well rounded, educated humans. Looking back in history, we can learn a lot from them and hopefully better ourselves.
