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Bradstreet Solution
The ‘Flesh and the Spirit’ is a poem published in 1650 authored by Anne Bradstreet. It is a conversation taking place between the Flesh and the Spirit. Bradstreet uses personification to make the Flesh and the Spirit as two sisters who are arguing. There is some misunderstanding between the two ‘sisters’ in the poem whereby the author speaks about the vital and obvious questions in the Puritan faith, Showalter, Elaine (31).
At the beginning of the poem, we see Bradstreet walking along the Lacrim from where she came across the two ‘sisters’ talking harshly to one another. It was clear from the beliefs of the Puritan the one who was to win the conversation. The conversation led to a realization of some negative feelings surrounding the faith, Ditmore, Michael (41).
There is an intellectual conflict between the two ‘sisters.’ The Flesh is depicted as taking pleasure in the material things of the earth whereas the Spirit is more concerned with achieving the glory of heaven. To get the material elements of the earth, the Flesh becomes so sinful and, in this way, the Spirit is also provoked to take part in the material things of the earth. The Flesh is excited by the wealth she has like silver and gold to the extent that she starts talking ill to the Spirit for only contemplating what is not seen and relying solely on mere knowledge of heaven. The intellectual conflict is evident as the Spirit responds in a high tone referring her to a foe, defending herself by saying that she only relies on the richness of paradise and will not fall for the temptations of the Flesh until death, Engberg, Kathrynn (48).
The Spirit is not willing to reconcile with the Flesh. It is said that the “sisters” will be in combat as long as they live. On the other hand, the Flesh is also firm on her desires and vows to protect them to the end insinuating the conflict between the two. It is one of the conflicts highlighted by the author in the “Flesh and the Spirit.”
Secondly, the author experiences a conflict due to the beliefs of Puritan. The author was a mother and wife within the Puritan community. Bradstreet had a passion for literary creation which was restricted by the restrictions and inhibition of Puritanism, Engberg (21). From the poem, there is a conflict between the beliefs of Puritan and the feelings of the author revealing the internal conflict Bradstreet had with the society for the limitations caused. It was a belief for Women to pass out before men after which the men remarried again, but Bradstreet was against such acts.
According to the beliefs of Puritans, the responsibility of women was to take care of their children and husbands. They were not supposed to take part in other activities like writing which the author, and in so doing, she was going against the beliefs of the society. A conflict is evident as Bradstreet went ahead to write several poems including the “Flesh and the Spirit,” “Go pretty babe,” and “In memory of my dear grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet.” To solve such injustices against women, the author wrote poems speaking about the abilities of women in bringing up society. The author is seen illustrating her frustrations with the way women were treated in this poem. She is more concerned with the cultural bias currently in their society whereby the men were seen to be more important than women.
Lastly, there is a conflict between good and evil in the poem. Thomas Shephard said, “The greatest part of Christian grace lies in mourning the want of it.” The statement summarizes the wickedness of the Puritan religion, Ditmore (33). It meant that Christians were to spend their lives thinking about attaining the eternal life in heaven than gaining the desires of the world. Furthermore, they were expected to deprive themselves of some of the wants of the earth and stand firm in their faith and connection to God to attain the heavenly wealth. In contrary, the faith of the Puritan was against such acts posing an internal conflict. It was believed that good Christians could never hope by contemplating on the unseen things.
The narrator talks of the “secret place” where she experienced great relief. The place was among the mourning stages as referred to as the “Lacrim flood.” The Flesh and the Spirit depict the two sides of the Puritan faith. The “Flesh is relying on the worldly possessions and the Spirit focusing on the heavenly glory, Showalter (27). The Spirit thereby represented the saved side while the Flesh was for the Puritan faith which believed in tangible things.
The narrator utilized her power in writing poems to solve the conflicts. She castigates those who are against women in the society thereby making them the caretakers of children and husbands, doing nothing else that is constructive to the community. Furthermore, it is evident from the poem that the narrator is supporting the Spirit and not the Flesh as she is against the beliefs of the Puritan people in material things as opposed to being redeemed.
Works Cited
Ditmore, Michael G. “Bliss Lost, Wisdom Gained: Contemplating Emblems and Enigmas in Anne Bradstreet’s” Contemplations.”” Early American Literature 42.1 (2007): 31-72.
Engberg, Kathrynn Seidler. The Right to Write: The Literary Politics of Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley. University Press of America, 2009.
Showalter, Elaine. A jury of her peers: American women writers from Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx. Hachette UK, 2009.