Motif Project of Non-Fictional Charcters in the Scarlett Let
"This rose-bush, by a strange chance, has been kept alive in history; but whether it had merely survived out of the stern old wilderness, so long after the fall of the gigantic pines and oaks that originally overshadowed it, or whether, as there is fair authority for believing, it had sprung up under the footsteps of the sainted Ann Hutchinson as she entered the prison-door, we shall not take upon us to determine."In 1636, Anne Hutchinson (1591-1643) was charged with heresy and banished from the Massachusetts Colony. A woman of learning and great religious conviction, Hutchinson challenged the Puritan clergy and asserted her view of the "Covenant of Grace" - that moral conduct and piety should not be the primary qualifications for "visible sanctification." Her preachings were unjustly labeled "antinomianism" by the Puritans - a heresy - since the Christian leaders of that day held to a strong "Covenant of Works" teaching, which dictated the need for outward signs of God's grace. What began as quibbling over fine points of Christian doctrine ended as a confrontation over the role of authority in the colony. Threatened by meetings she held in her Boston home, the clergy charged Hutchinson with blasphemy. An outspoken female in a
Mistress Hibbins came to Massachusetts Bay from England about 1634 with her husband William and her brother Richard Bellingham and his family. The Bellinghams and the Hibbins were prominent almost from their arrival. Both families prospered almost immediately. William Hibbins was a successful merchant. In 1643, he was appointed a magistrate and served in that position until his death in 1654. At some point he also spent two years in England as a colonial agent. On June 19, 1656, Ann Hibbins was hanged for her "crime" of being a witch. She was the fifth and last witch to be executed in Boston until 1688. As long as William Hibbins lived, Ann Hibbins was protected, perhaps even begrudgingly accepted. However, at some point prior to 1654, Hibbins suffered a severe financial setback, losing 500L in a bad investment. Broken in spirit, unable to recoup, he died in 1654. Left alone, aging, poor and a widow, Ann Hibbins fell close to the norm for accused witches. She became more querulous and troublesome to her neighbors, apparently to such an extent that in 1655 she was brought before the Court of Assistants. Tried before a jury, she was condemned as a witch.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Ann Hibbins, John Wilson, Mistress Hibbins, Covenant Grace, Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne, , Antinomian Quaker, Church Puritan, William Hibbins, mistress hibbins, hester prynne, ann hibbins, witch mistress, william hibbins, ann hutchinson, john wilson, witch mistress hibbins, puritan authorities,
Approximate Word count = 1143
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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