FREE ESSAY ON THE FLESH & THE SPIRIT

THE FLESH & THE SPIRIT

Anne Bradstreet's poem The Flesh and the Spirit, reveals an interesting inner conflict in
the life of a Puritan woman in the New World, as well as insight into Bradstreet and her
own internal conflicts with Puritanism and the wilderness of America. Bradsteet is
considered a representative of the ideal Puritan wife and mother; her poems reflect those
images as well as give the opportunity to question them. The Flesh and the Spirit is a
poem about conflict versus resolution, evil versus good, earth versus heaven, and
weakness versus faith. The victor in these Puritan poems is always the most honest.
Because the conflict is resolved so the Spirit overcomes over the Flesh, Bradstreet's
poem is representative of the characteristic of the Puritan morals.
The poem begins with the narrator referring to herself as I. Because the poem continues
in the first person, as the narrator is overhearing a conversation taking place, the
reader is able to associate this conversation with one taking place within the author's
mind. The concept of inner conflict is also established through the first two lines of
the poem, In secret place where once I stood / Close by the banks of Lacrim flood. This
indicates a secret place in the narrator's world where, whether physically or mentally
,she deals with an inner conflict in a time of hardship. Internal conflict and moral
resolution are very important to Puritan belief of self and faith. Because Bradstreet
composed this poem in the New World, her strenuous and discouraging life was constantly
being tested with Puritan ideals while she adjusted to her new life.
While listening to the twin sisters debate, the narrator hears the voice of Flesh first.
Nearly everything Flesh says is an essential question of Spirit's faith. Her desire for
worldly wealth and vanity is the cause for her confusion with the beliefs of Spirit. Her
first question regards the livelihood of Spirit, what liv'st thou on, / Nothing but
meditation? (lines9-10). This question is particularly interesting in that in the context
of the New World, much questioning and separation occurs between the natives and the
Puritans by what they eat. The significance of food for survival is particularly
important because the colonists were struggling for the necessities, and encountered many
new varieties of food. When Flesh refers to the faith of Spirit as speculation . . . with
out reality she questions the idea of God as a whole. Flesh further insists on arguring
the basis of religious faith in describing Spirit's quest for heaven as one which
attempts to grasp at shadows (lines 13-20). This debate of believing what cannot be seen
could be further construed in the context of colonial life as being a representative of
the colonizers believing in a new and abundant paradise across the ocean. After believing
in the fertility and beauty of the New World, Bradstreet as a colonist may have felt
misguided. Life across the ocean was not what she thought it would be. Heaven, to Flesh,
could not contain more riches than earth; her belief is confirmed by being able to see
and hold the wealth (lines 30-34). Whereas Spirit is assured of the abundance of luxury
available in heaven by something solely spiritual. The answers to Flesh's questions can
only be found through scripture; Spirit goes to scripture for the answers. Spirit's
replies to Flesh contain no questions; she is convinced of the power of the Father and
heaven through the presence of her settled heart (line 38). Spirit once again recognizes
their relationship as twins from a single beginning. This further proves the claim that
these sisters are two sides to the narrator's mind. Spirit then admits to having been a
slave to the Flesh and to vanity and deadly trickery. Spirit says, Thy sinful pleasures I
do hate, / They riches are to me no bait (lines 57-58). This is particularly contrary in
that the description of heaven Spirit uses of large amounts of valuable gold, silver, and
pearly gates present at the end of the poem define very earthly pleasures. Spirit states
that her more honorable moment will be when she is able to be completely victorious over
Flesh. This section of the poem is particularly interesting also in the context of the
colonial environment. "When thou my captive shalt be led, How I do live, thou need'st not
scoff, For I have meat thou know'st not of; The hidden manna I do eat, The word of life
it is my meat"" (lines 64-68).The words of capture, culture, and meat play roles in the
physical relationship between the Puritan colonists and the Native Americans. Bradstreet
may have seen the natives as ridiculing the Puritans for their culture and their lack of
ability to live on the land of the New World. She sees the natives as surviving with more
resources, but understands that they do not accept that the Father is the ultimate
provider. These lines may refer to how Bradstreet answers to her own questions about her
lack of food and necessities when compared with the non-Christian, devilish natives. This
passage is also a means of replying to Flesh's question of what the Spirit lives on. In
that context, it is apparent that the Spirit does not need the meat of the land, but the
meat of God. This hunger has been satisfied through the religious freedom allowed in the
New World and will continue to be satisfied as Spirit will rise above the earth with her
death and be enriched by an Eternal substance (line 75).
Another significant aspect of this poem is that both of the characters are women. The
Flesh sister is very much representative of the way women are understood in this time
period: she is unable to satisfy her desires, she does not understand the scripture, she
longs for vanity. Spirit, however, is able to interpret the scripture and is a faithful
and the highest character in the worship of her Father. The only male characters in the
entire poem are the Father and Adam, both the creative forces behind the women, but not
the route through which spirituality is achieved. This lack of male intervention is
uncharacteristic of Puritan ideology as it was believed that women were incapable of
interpreting and understanding scripture without the help and guidance of their husbands
or fathers. Bradstreet does not exclude her male counterpart in all of her poetry (e.g.
To My Dear and Loving Husband), and it is not necessarily true that she meant to exclude
it here. This aspect of the poem further confirms the idea that the conflict here is
happening internally. Bradstreet may have believed in her ability to understand scripture
was adequate as a way of being a faithful Puritan, but her respect for her husband was
not emphasized by this internal belief.
As a piece of literature which was written in Early America by a Puritan women, the poem
The Flesh and the Spirit contains many of the issues present in the everyday life of the
people. It also reflects the images the colonists were expecting when they ventured in
the New World. Bradstreet's inner conflict between her fleshly desires and her
spirituality are very Puritan and private. By composing a poem such as this, she admits
her own struggle with the issues of faith. This trial, in addition to the hardships she
encountered as a colonist in the New World support her identity with the Puritan faith.