A Letter to Her Husband, Absent Upon Public Employment by Anne Bradstreet Essay

W.W and Norton company first published the book named above in the year 1979. The book comprises of various literature works by different authors of American descent that ranges from pamphlets to short poems, philosophy pieces and entire full novels. One particular reading that captures my interest in this text is Anne Bradstreet's, "A letter to her husband, absent upon public employment" that can get found in the anthology on page 238 (Michael,2017). Anne Bradstreet was born on 20th March 1612 in Northampton England to Thomas Dudley. Coming from a well-off background Bradstreet in her early life, got educated in history and language literature. In her extensive collection of poetry work, Anne had a particular style of writing that was unique to her. There is a specific thematic pattern that a reader tends to pick from her collection. One such theme is the plight of women in society. In what may be considered as feminism today, Anne was a firm believer in that women were equal to men and were entitled to fair treatment as well. Advocating for women's rights in most of her poems, Bradstreet was an activist who used poetry as her tool to communicate to the world.

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In her poem, "A letter to her husband absent upon public employment", the author has managed to present the reader with various thematic concerns that we experience in our day to day lives in the societal setting. The first theme as in most of her poems is the role of women in society. The letter is addressed to her husband who has left home on work-related grounds leaving her back by herself. She says; "If two be one, as surely thou and I, How stayest thou there, whilst I at Ipswich lie? So many steps, head from the heart to sever," (Michael,2017) The feeling of loneliness engulfs her, and she finds herself wondering why it has to be this way. She longs for her husband's presence in her life and company, but this is not possible owing to the roles he has to play as a male member of the society in the day.

As it was customary back in the day, women rarely contributed to the income generation contribution for the family. This task got delegated to the husband who was viewed as the head of the family unit and the provider. On the other hand, women were charged with the basic tasks of home chores and taking care of their families. This displays the position that women held in society as being lesser compared to men. This is one issue that Anne advocated against and fought for the liberalisation of the woman to help her achieve a status quo in the social ladder.

Another theme that can get depicted in this poem is the theme of love and desire. In marriage, the spouses are bound together by romantic love for each other. Having the presence of a loved one around you makes one feel more satisfied and secure. However, this is not the case for Anne. Her husband who she defines as the love of her life is not in her presence. When it is cold, she doesn't have him around to keep her warm. She says, "His warmth such frigid colds did cause to melt. My chilled limbs now numbed lie forlorn" (Michael,2017) From this line, we can tell that the author desires to have her husband present not only physically but emotionally.

This is another challenge that most women went through at the time, i.e. suffering from the absentia syndrome. In the day, men either served as soldiers or in other fields that took them away from home for long periods of time. By the poet bringing up this theme of love and desire, she is not only speaking of the current condition that she finds herself in but also as a challenge that most women have to face from time to time. With the setting in of the modern lifestyle, this aspect of social living has not changed much. Men are still forced to work away from home leaving their wives, or lovers in a desire for their presence. However, Anne consoles herself by hoping that once her husband returns he will never have to leave again. She consoles herself saying, "The welcome house of him my dearest guest. Where ever, ever stay, and go not thence, Till nature's sad decree shall call thee hence;" (Michael,2017) This is the kind of life that the author so much desires in her life. The theme of love is evident all through the poem from one stanza to another.

Another theme that Anne managed to elicit is the theme concerning the role of the administration and how the government affects people's lives. Like the title of the poem suggests, the writer's husband is absent owing to public employment. This means that he is either a civil servant or works in a particular area related to government employment. Back in the day, certain governmental jobs were not optional. Provided an individual was of age and could work, they were considered subject to offering service to the governing authorities if required to. Such occupations included serving as a soldier. Young and non-disabled men were sometimes forcefully conscribed in the army to gather the necessary numbers to face an enemy in times of war. Anne never clearly specified what kind of job that her husband was undertaking. However, one can easily speculate this was a job where he did not have much say or choice regarding whether to take it or not. This is because, with the kind of love and loneliness that the wife experiences in her husband's absence, if she was in a position to stop him from leaving, then she could. Consequently, with his wife's feelings, it is hardly probable that the husband went voluntarily. It is expected with the kind of relationship that the two had, none of them would be willing to leave the others side.

Conclusion

Through her work in poetry, Anne Bradstreet has managed to elucidate the various aspects of social living that ae experience in our day to day lives. From the theme of the plight of women in society to love and desire, the author has carefully documented various thematic concerns. (Michael,2017) Poetry is a valuable assessment tool that society can use to evaluate itself. The art serves as a mirror in which the community can see its deeds and point out exactly where something is wrong. From the analogical analysis provided by the poet named above, one can depict that the plight of women was a keen area of interest in the society back in the day. Women were not treated following the standards that they deserved, and men are viewed continuously to be the superior gender. Although Anne did not manage to change this aspect, through the thematic concerns that she highlighted in the above poem, she helped lay the foundation for the liberation of a looked down upon gender.

Works cited

Robert S. Levine; Michael A (2017) The Norton Anthology of American Literature (Ninth Edition) (Vol. Package 1: Volumes A and B). Retrieved from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780393631074