Puritan Lifestyle
...ual connection made them sympathetic to each other's needs. They believed the bible was god’s true law and the way they should live life. The bible provided them a plan for living. Puritanism was a comforting religion because it placed God in charge. They felt obligated to prove their faith to themselves and others; they also forced good behavior on others in fear that those who didn’t believe would affect them. Although their religion was a bit paranoid, it’s quite sensible for the time period they existed in. Many think the Puritans were dark, gloomy people, but they danced and wore colorful clothing and occasionally drank. They felt that sex was a blessing from god and could be used for pleasure, but only in wedlock. They usually had very large families and they were against anything that they considered a waste of time. An example of this is gambling. They thought gambling and card playing were sinful because they were a waste of time, not because it was purely evil. Puritans were very hard-working humans who admired the saying “A penny earned is a penny saved.” They also liked to say “Early to bed, early rise.” I would like to go more into depth about some of the specific rules they had. A big fear for Puritan girls was becoming an old maid. An old maid was a woman who was around the age of 25 and not married. Old maids were called Thornbacks by children. All girls saw the need to marry before they could be classified as a Thornback. Old maids were viewed a women who were somehow associated with Satan. This belief rises from the Christian creation where Adam and Eve were husband and wife as they were man and women. This was considered gods work and no Christian should ever challenge the belief. In order for a couple to be married their were steps they had to complete. They needed to promise to obey the rules of marriage as stated by god. When a husband and wife disobeyed these rules they were neglecting themselves and wronging god. You were required to have a contract to marry, much like an engagement now days. After this you were to make the announcement to everyone that a marriage will be taking place in the future. Then, the couple was married at the church and it was followed up by a celebration with feasting at the groom’s home. The last step was intercourse. No marriage was valid without the bodily union of sex. If a man could not provide this to the women, his bride could break the contract and leave the marriage. Many men were not able to perform due to the demanding society of puritan life. Marriage was for joy and also to escape burning in hell. Men and women were created different for each other’s pleasure and divorce laws were relatively mild, and separation like I said before could be based on sexual incompatibility. Divorce, like marriage was under the jurisdiction of the civil courts and legislatures. When a marriage ended it was treated as though it never existed in Puritans minds. You couldn’t get divorced for anything, usually only adultery, desertion,...