tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582751663390398171.post8669257322484459961..comments2023-11-03T17:20:18.270-07:00Comments on William & Mary Dyer: John Winthrop’s love letter to his fiancéeChristy K Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05988458745832012138noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582751663390398171.post-31640526152416713472014-02-09T14:46:48.494-07:002014-02-09T14:46:48.494-07:00I've heard several people (not Puritans, but s...I've heard several people (not Puritans, but spiritual descendants of them, surely) say in the last decade that the second coming of Christ is imminent, and that we're living in the "anti-typical Day of Atonement," which is a sober time of reflections on one's many sins, and the time to perfect one's character before the judgment. Like the Calvinist Puritans, they believe that only people of the "Elect of God," who are predestined or who know the "Truth," will be saved. There is no understanding of grace, mercy, and forgiveness in that paradigm. Christy K Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05988458745832012138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582751663390398171.post-28442033949398126272014-02-09T10:23:04.996-07:002014-02-09T10:23:04.996-07:00This is one of the things that worries me most abo...This is one of the things that worries me most about the Puritans - that loving the beauty of the world could somehow be seen as a sin. That if you had a happy and loving family, you ought to be punished, made to suffer. As you say, a kind of spiritual bipolar disorder.Ann Swinfenhttp://www.annswinfen.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582751663390398171.post-74734188128446845242014-02-09T08:51:21.137-07:002014-02-09T08:51:21.137-07:00John Winthrop was a complicated man, and he was a ...John Winthrop was a complicated man, and he was a major character in my novel, Mary Dyer Illuminated. I think I figured him out, which would have infuriated him! To prepare to write my book, I studied his public journal over and over, and read his personal, spiritual journal called Experiencia, as well as his letters to Margaret and many others. In a nutshell (always a dangerous assumption), he was never happier than when suffering for the Lord. And when he enjoyed success in his career or family life--or even the weather on a July day--he would suddenly awaken and take that as pride in his own accomplishments instead of a gift of grace. He believed that the good life distracted him from God. Then he would fast (or take only a small ration of bread) and pray that God would bring him back down and remind him to be humble. <br /><br />But then, Puritans (like many conservative/fundamental Christians today) believed that God's providence in blessing with material possessions and happiness showed his approval of their goodness and fitness for eternal life--so the cycle would begin again. In today's anachronistic terms, I'd call it *spiritual* bipolar disorder. <br /><br />As for Margaret Tyndal Winthrop, she didn't seem to chafe under the burden. She was devoted to her husband, well-respected in the community, and always expressed compassion and understanding. Christy K Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05988458745832012138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4582751663390398171.post-46695422185372912532014-02-09T05:04:33.634-07:002014-02-09T05:04:33.634-07:00This is fascinating, especially as I have conflict...This is fascinating, especially as I have conflicts between Puritans and Anglicans in my new novel, FLOOD, and even a wedding! Not only physical conflicts but conflicts in their whole attitude to life. Although it is much more affectionate, this letter does remind me of Casaubon's 'love letter' to Dorothea in Middlemarch. The same male patronising condescension towards a young bride, and the same emphasis on the woman's duty to make the man happy. I've always thought George Eliot's Casaubon letter is one of the most brilliant exposures of a character in literature. From Winthrop's letter, one can't help feeling he would have been a very difficult man to live with!Ann Swinfenhttp://www.annswinfen.comnoreply@blogger.com