Glimpse Into the Other Side of the Anne Hutchinson Case

“Although the elders claimed that their punishments of Hutchinson were for the good of the society as a whole, they were most furious about her personal criticism of their preaching; it was absolutely unforgivable, Thomas Weld complained, that ‘the faithful ministers of Christ must have dung cast on their faces, and be no better than Legall Preachers, Baals priests, Popish Factors, Scribes, Pharisees, and Opposes of Christ himselfe.’”

-A Radically Different Voice: Gender and Language in the Trials of Anne Hutchinson, Lad Tobin

This quote is interesting for me to read. I mostly find myself siding with Anne Hutchinson because everything that I have read has shown her as the victim. I am not saying that I believe any of this as being morally correct but I enjoyed hearing this piece about those on the other side of the argument. They (the accusers of Anne) felt very strongly about being seen in a poor light. They did not want this trend to continue. People were beginning to see flaws or differences in these tradition Puritan teachings and change was beginning to take place. Not only were women in on this change, but men as well. This movement was gathering strength and challenged the comfort and authority these traditional Puritan men had.

I could see them being offended by the rejection of some of their teachings but it seems way over dramatized in this quote. I still believe that banning Anne Hutchinson from the Massachusetts Bay was unnecessary and unjust but this quote at least gives to light the thoughts and feelings of her accusers.

This quote clearly shows how overboard these people went and the way they overanalyzed Anne’s teachings. The idea that in the New World the Puritan’s had less in common stands out even more to me now. Without the common persecution from the Old World, there was less to keep these people bonded together with. They were waiting for the next bonding experience, and that happened when some new idea was introduced and accepted by Puritans. To combine against Anne was the next “bonding moment”. I think this is a crucial aspect for the trials of Anne Hutchinson.