'She filled every Relation with the Exercise of such Graces and Duties as were suitable thereunto, knowing that where Relative duties are neglected, and not made Conscience of, there also our pretended Religion is in Vain. First, As a Wife; She was singular, and very Exemplary, in that reverence and obedience which she yielded to her Husband, both in Words and Deeds.' Thus the ejected minister and biographer Samuel Clarke eulogised his wife of fifty years in the life he published after her death. This typical if problematic source for a Puritan woman introduces some of the themes of this chapter. Puritan divinity had implications for all aspects of human life; Puritans were exhorted to demonstrate their faith through the daily performance of 'relative duties' within their households as well as through pious activities more narrowly defined. For women, the duties of a wife took priority; the implications that followed, and the ways in which women found meaning and influence within Puritan families and networks are a central concern of this chapter. But the hierarchies of gender are part of the fundamental ordering of societies, so we need to consider what Puritanism contributed to the expectations and possibilities for the proper roles and behaviour of women and men. Moreover, gendered language provided a profoundly influential set of symbols and metaphors through which people understood contrast and division (in this context particularly the contrast between the true and false church) and relationships of power and authority (such as the relationship between Christ and the church).