Anne Bradstreet has been cited as the foremost literary figure of colonial American history. She is a major source of Puritan Literature. She subtly referred to certain gender injustices in her writings, which is why some of it had a pre-First Wave feel. This is best illustrated in “A letter to her husband, absent on public employment”. She did this by addressing gender inequality subtly, but still appealing to men.
In “A letter to her Husband, absent on Publick Employment,” she discusses the differences in her mind, heart, eyes, and life. Many men probably missed that by doing so, she was referring to her spouse. The reader can only guess this from the fact that she calls him “her joy” and her “magazine for earthly stores”. She also personifies them by suggesting they are all one entity. She mourns the absence of her husband as if he had died. She describes his presence in her life as a time when she does not feel cold or storm.
The Bible expresses the same idea in similar words, that we must live in this world of sin before ascending into heaven after death. This is her way of saying that her husband, aside from God, is everything to her. The reader must understand, however, that her husband isn’t dead as it is easy to misunderstand. He is on a business journey, not dead. Here, the speaker’s description of her situation reveals the implicit feminist undertone. She says that she doesn’t like being in the house alone when her husband isn’t there. She describes her body as being cold and a prison without him.
She uses Zodiac symbols to describe the cycle of seasons that she has already mentioned, and references them throughout the poem. The summer sun rises to its highest point in the constellation of Capricorn, while the winter brings shorter days and colder temperatures. This coldness has a literal meaning, but also refers to the seasons. Her husband’s arrival is compared to summer when the sun is in Cancer.
This poem is about the loneliness of its speaker, not the season or sexuality. The poem’s real message is something even more profound than this. Bradstreet’s poem wants readers to be able to interpret the speaker’s sentiments. The speaker uses very specific and deliberate words to describe this loneliness, coldness, etc. She carefully chooses the words that she uses in her poems. She uses many synonyms to describe the words that are important to the poem. However, she is aiming to achieve a specific effect on the reader.
What Bradstreet, the poet, and the speaker mean by their words to each other is what fills in the remaining meaning of the title. This discussion has so far only substantiated half of the title. But the second half is what eludes her: public employment. She does this by putting the action in her husband’s hands. The husband has the authority to come and go as he pleases, while the wife is trapped at home. In the same way, it’s her husband who has a secure job.
The speaker’s true point is that there is gender inequality within their society or their marriage. She has no freedom to earn her own living and is as dependent on her spouse as their children despite the age difference. The poem does have a slight sexual element, but it is subtle. A speaker could be sexually frustrated, at the most. It is necessary to examine her words, and recognize that there are many more phrases and words she could have used. She says that her limbs have become numb or chilled. This could be a double entendre for her sexual desire, as she claims they are lying in a state of abandonment. She makes more subtle double-entendres by referring her children to the fruits of his heat. Bradstreet has a sensual writing style that is uncommon for Puritan women. This is most evident in this piece.
In any case, the sensual details of the poetry are probably only surface features, which will only distract you from the true meaning. Bradstreet wrote the poem from a place of deep understanding about her role in society as a Puritan girl. The sex of Bradstreet or her peers determined the station they held. Even in a modern society, women still face the same problems. Progress is non-existent. The poem shows which freedoms and explorations have traditionally been reserved for women.