Book contents
- Puritans Behaving Badly
- Puritans Behaving Badly
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 The Great Hen Squabble and Regulating the Godly Path
- 2 Drunkards and Fornicators on Meeting House Hill
- 3 “Wicked Tongues and Wayward Behavior”
- 4 A “Blubbering” War Hero and the Middle Ground of Masculinity
- 5 “Unquiet Frame of Spirit”
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
5 - “Unquiet Frame of Spirit”
Ann Hibbens, a Troublesome and Insubordinate Woman
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 May 2020
- Puritans Behaving Badly
- Puritans Behaving Badly
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 The Great Hen Squabble and Regulating the Godly Path
- 2 Drunkards and Fornicators on Meeting House Hill
- 3 “Wicked Tongues and Wayward Behavior”
- 4 A “Blubbering” War Hero and the Middle Ground of Masculinity
- 5 “Unquiet Frame of Spirit”
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Chapter 5 examines what happened to women who did not conform, the troublemakers and heretics who refused to adhere to the expectations of their faith and their societies. This chapter offers a case study of Ann Hibbens, who exemplifies the dangers to women who transgressed gendered boundaries. The wife of a wealthy and well-regarded man, Hibbens faced censure charges when she disputed the work and fees of a carpenter she hired. While negotiating such work fell within the boundaries of wifely duties, challenging a man in business did not. In her censure process, Ann did not adhere to the expectations for a female sinner and was resolute that she was right and refused to submit to the authority of men. Any deviance or defiance of the social norms branded women as suspect, and Ann’s determination to spar with men made her very dangerous. When her husband died, leaving her unprotected, she went from a troublesome woman to a witch. The costs were high for such women in early New England.
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- Information
- Puritans Behaving BadlyGender, Punishment, and Religion in Early America, pp. 117 - 135Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020