Orangians
21-09-2005, 12:22
All right, I see that quite a few people use "puritanical" and "prudish" interchangeably. I'm tired of seeing the historically ignorant bloviate on about how the "puritanical ethic" is responsible for so-called "uptight views" on sex that survive in the United States.
Puritans looked upon sex as a healthy and necessary part of marriage. In fact, a husband or wife could be punished for denying his or her spouse sex. Puritans, a more pragmatic lot than you'd think, discussed sex quite openly. They could even be characterized as often romantic and sentimental about love and sex. Virginity as an ideal wasn't cherished in women. Unmarried women were expected to remain chaste, though. If a Puritan caught a fellow member of the community committing adultery, the snitch would probably recall the encounter in quite explicit detail before the rest of the community and even to the court if the offended spouse decided to request a divorce. I read one account of two women stumbling upon a man having sex on the floor of his home with his young mistress. The women walked directly up to his open window and stared at him having sex, all the while condemning him for his sin. The women then discussed the 'ins and outs' of what they had witnessed before the magistrate. Imagine! Young female Puritans talking about sex - in public! Puritans opposed sex outside of marriage, yes, but realized that premarital sex was a fact of life. If a girl became pregnant before marriage, Puritans would most likely respond sensibly - the community would strongly urge the male and female involved to marry as soon as possible. The Puritans had a practical reason for this: if the man refused to take responsibility for the woman and child, the community would have to financially support her.
As a point of side interest, Puritans often lived in brightly colored houses and even wore ornate and colorful clothing. They enjoyed parties. The women weren't kept inside and locked away. Women tended to farms and assisted their husbands with the family business. Women could inherit property. Divorce was permitted, but not very common. Although husbands did beat their wives, it was generally frowned upon as a practice, just as it was in Medieval Europe.
This has a point. When people say "puritanical," I think they really mean "Victorian." In a history class my professor told me a story of a man who lived in the Victorian Era. He had never seen a woman naked in person or from a photograph. The only knowledge he had of female nudity was from classical art and Greek and Roman statues. On the night of his honeymoon, he saw his wife naked for the first time. He refused to consummate the marriage. He saw that real women have pubic hair and lumps and skin discoloration. The sight of his naked wife so appalled him as a repressed Victorian that he never had sex with his bride for the entirety of their marriage. She eventually left him and remarried, and apparently had a quite fulfilling sex life with her new husband.
This is an exaggerated account, of course. Obviously the Victorians had sex inside and outside of marriage. The difference was that the Victorians saw the subject as sinful and crude. Men were known to visit prostitutes, but the topic was entirely too distasteful to discuss. Virginity was cherished and the sanctity and innocence of children was championed. Women were supposed to remain naive about sex. Check out Victorian paintings of women. They're always sitting inside, perhaps looking out a window, never really reading or writing, and always looking pristine.
So, I beg of you, from now on if you're whining about prudes, call them Victorians, not Puritans.
Puritans looked upon sex as a healthy and necessary part of marriage. In fact, a husband or wife could be punished for denying his or her spouse sex. Puritans, a more pragmatic lot than you'd think, discussed sex quite openly. They could even be characterized as often romantic and sentimental about love and sex. Virginity as an ideal wasn't cherished in women. Unmarried women were expected to remain chaste, though. If a Puritan caught a fellow member of the community committing adultery, the snitch would probably recall the encounter in quite explicit detail before the rest of the community and even to the court if the offended spouse decided to request a divorce. I read one account of two women stumbling upon a man having sex on the floor of his home with his young mistress. The women walked directly up to his open window and stared at him having sex, all the while condemning him for his sin. The women then discussed the 'ins and outs' of what they had witnessed before the magistrate. Imagine! Young female Puritans talking about sex - in public! Puritans opposed sex outside of marriage, yes, but realized that premarital sex was a fact of life. If a girl became pregnant before marriage, Puritans would most likely respond sensibly - the community would strongly urge the male and female involved to marry as soon as possible. The Puritans had a practical reason for this: if the man refused to take responsibility for the woman and child, the community would have to financially support her.
As a point of side interest, Puritans often lived in brightly colored houses and even wore ornate and colorful clothing. They enjoyed parties. The women weren't kept inside and locked away. Women tended to farms and assisted their husbands with the family business. Women could inherit property. Divorce was permitted, but not very common. Although husbands did beat their wives, it was generally frowned upon as a practice, just as it was in Medieval Europe.
This has a point. When people say "puritanical," I think they really mean "Victorian." In a history class my professor told me a story of a man who lived in the Victorian Era. He had never seen a woman naked in person or from a photograph. The only knowledge he had of female nudity was from classical art and Greek and Roman statues. On the night of his honeymoon, he saw his wife naked for the first time. He refused to consummate the marriage. He saw that real women have pubic hair and lumps and skin discoloration. The sight of his naked wife so appalled him as a repressed Victorian that he never had sex with his bride for the entirety of their marriage. She eventually left him and remarried, and apparently had a quite fulfilling sex life with her new husband.
This is an exaggerated account, of course. Obviously the Victorians had sex inside and outside of marriage. The difference was that the Victorians saw the subject as sinful and crude. Men were known to visit prostitutes, but the topic was entirely too distasteful to discuss. Virginity was cherished and the sanctity and innocence of children was championed. Women were supposed to remain naive about sex. Check out Victorian paintings of women. They're always sitting inside, perhaps looking out a window, never really reading or writing, and always looking pristine.
So, I beg of you, from now on if you're whining about prudes, call them Victorians, not Puritans.