Flesh And Spirit By Bradstreet
Anne Bradstreet's poem "The Flesh and the
Spirit," reveals an
interesting inner conflict in the life of a Puritan woman
in the New World, as
well as insight into Bradstreet and her own internal
conflicts with Puritanism
and the wilderness of America. Bradsteet is
considered a representative of the
ideal Puritan wife and mother; her poems
reflect those images as well as give
the opportunity to question them. "The
Flesh and the Spirit" is a poem
about conflict versus resolution, evil versus
good, earth versus heaven, and
weakness versus faith. The victor in these
Puritan poems is always the most
honest. Because the conflict is resolved so
the Spirit overcomes over the Flesh,
Bradstreet's poem is representative
of the characteristic of the Puritan morals.
The poem begins with the
narrator referring to herself as "I." Because
the poem continues in the first
person, as the narrator is overhearing a
conversation taking place, the
reader is able to associate this conversation
with one taking place within
the author's mind. The concept of inner conflict is
also established through
the first two lines of the poem, "In secret place
where once I stood / Close
by the banks of Lacrim flood." This indicates a
secret place in the
narrator's world where, whether physically or mentally ,she
deals with an
inner conflict in a time of hardship. Internal conflict and moral
resolution
are very important to Puritan belief of self and faith.
Because
Bradstreet composed this poem in the New World, her strenuous and
discouraging
life was constantly being tested with Puritan ideals while she
adjusted to her
new life. While listening to the twin sisters debate, the
narrator hears the
voice of Flesh first. Nearly everything Flesh says is an
essential question of
Spirit's faith. Her desire for "worldly wealth and
vanity" is the
cause for her confusion with the beliefs of Spirit. Her first
question regards
the livelihood of Spirit, "what liv'st thou on, / Nothing
but
meditation?" (lines9-10). This question is particularly interesting in
that
in the context of the New World, much questioning and separation occurs
between
the natives and the Puritans by what they eat. The significance of
food for
survival is particularly important because the colonists were
struggling for the
necessities, and encountered many new varieties of food.
When Flesh refers to
the faith of Spirit as "speculation . . . with out
reality" she
questions the idea of God as a whole. Flesh further insists on
arguring the
basis of religious faith in describing Spirit's quest for heaven
as one which
attempts to grasp at "shadows" (lines 13-20). This debate of
believing
what cannot be seen could be further construed in the context of
colonial life
as being a representative of the colonizers believing in a new
and abundant
paradise across the ocean. After believing in the fertility and
beauty of the
New World, Bradstreet as a colonist may have felt
misguided. Life across the
ocean was not what she thought it would be.
Heaven, to Flesh, could not contain
more riches than earth; her belief is
confirmed by being able to "see"
and "hold" the wealth (lines 30-34). Whereas
Spirit is assured of the
abundance of luxury available in heaven by something
solely spiritual. The
answers to Flesh's questions can only be found through
scripture; Spirit goes to
scripture for the answers. Spirit's replies to
Flesh contain no questions; she
is convinced of the power of the Father and
heaven through the presence of her
"settled heart" (line 38). Spirit once
again recognizes their
relationship as twins from a single beginning. This
further proves the claim
that these sisters are two sides to the narrator's
mind. Spirit then admits to
having been a slave to the Flesh and to vanity
and deadly trickery. Spirit says,
"Thy sinful pleasures I do hate, / They
riches are to me no bait"
(lines 57-58). This is particularly contrary in
that the description of heaven
Spirit uses of large amounts of valuable
gold, silver, and pearly gates present
at the end of the poem define very
earthly pleasures. Spirit states that her
more honorable moment will be when
she is able to be completely victorious over
Flesh. This section of the
poem is particularly interesting also in the context
of the colonial
environment. "When thou my captive shalt be led, How I do
live, thou need'st
not scoff, For I have meat thou know'st not of; The hidden
manna I do eat,
The word of life it is my meat"" (lines 64-68).The words of
capture, culture,
and meat play roles in the physical relationship between the
Puritan
colonists and the Native Americans. Bradstreet may have seen the natives
as
ridiculing the Puritans for their culture and their lack of ability to
live
on the land of the New World. She sees the natives as surviving with
more
resources, but understands that they do not accept that the Father is
the
ultimate provider. These lines may refer to how Bradstreet answers to her
own
questions about her lack of food and necessities when compared with
the
non-Christian, devilish natives. This passage is also a means of replying
to
Flesh's question of what the Spirit lives on. In that context, it is
apparent
that the Spirit does not need the meat of the land, but the meat of
God. This
hunger has been satisfied through the religious freedom allowed in
the New World
and will continue to be satisfied as Spirit will rise above the
earth with her
death and be "enriched" by an "Eternal substance" (line
75).
Another significant aspect of this poem is that both of the
characters are
women. The Flesh sister is very much representative of the way
women are
understood in this time period: she is unable to satisfy her
desires, she does
not understand the scripture, she longs for vanity. Spirit,
however, is able to
interpret the scripture and is a faithful and the highest
character in the
worship of her Father. The only male characters in the
entire poem are the
Father and Adam, both the creative forces behind the
women, but not the route
through which spirituality is achieved. This lack of
male intervention is
uncharacteristic of Puritan ideology as it was believed
that women were
incapable of interpreting and understanding scripture without
the help and
guidance of their husbands or fathers. Bradstreet does not
exclude her male
counterpart in all of her poetry (e.g. "To My Dear and
Loving
Husband"), and it is not necessarily true that she meant to
exclude it
here. This aspect of the poem further confirms the idea that the
conflict here
is happening internally. Bradstreet may have believed in her
ability to
understand scripture was adequate as a way of being a faithful
Puritan, but her
respect for her husband was not emphasized by this internal
belief. As a piece
of literature which was written in Early America by a
Puritan women, the poem
"The Flesh and the Spirit" contains many of the
issues present in the
everyday life of the people. It also reflects the
images the colonists were
expecting when they ventured in the New World.
Bradstreet's inner conflict
between her fleshly desires and her spirituality
are very Puritan and private.
By composing a poem such as this, she
admits her own struggle with the issues of
faith. This trial, in addition to
the hardships she encountered as a colonist in
the New World support her
identity with the Puritan
faith.