Anne Hutchinson Sexism

Rosa Parks, Malala Yousafzai, and Lucretia Mott all share the desire for striving for reforming their society. They were not among the first of their kind; Anne Hutchinson strove for the same aspirations in 1637. Little did Winthrop know, the day when Hutchinson arrived to the colony was the day when a threat that had to be dealt with showed up. Anne Hutchinson was a woman who knew right from wrong, was one with God, had the persistence and composure to maintain the argument, and did not stand for sexism of any form. And this made her a threat to John Winthrop and his Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Towards the beginning of the trial, Winthrop immediately asserted his authority over Hutchinson by saying, “[we] are your judges, and not you ours
Both kept their composure, even though Winthrop maintained his persistence. Winthrop began to question Hutchinson about her meetings, implying they broke the law. She replied with, “Do you think it is not lawful for me to teach women and why do you call me to teach the court?” Instead of giving in to Winthrop’s persistence, she instead questioned his view of the law. He implied she had broken a law by holding her meetings so she questioned why she was asked to teach the court, which is what she is doing by sharing her views in a court
The phrasing behind this leads the reader to believe that he does, in fact, mean to discourse those of her sex. This shows their awareness sexisim towards her but choose to keep going in this course. She had no say in trying to combat this sexism because of the social norms of Puritan society. Hutchinson instead spoke up about what he believed was right rather than against their sexist actions. Winthrop then goes on to take a new approach at questioning her, giving examples of what a man could say to her, such as, “[consider a man came up to you and said this]: ‘Mrs. Hutchinson, I hear that you are a woman that God hath give his grace unto and you have knowledge in the word of God. I pray instruct me a little.’ (Ought you not to instruct this man?)” Winthrop is attempting to bait an answer out of Hutchinson but she does not seem to appreciate it. This shows his persistent obstinance for trying to get rid of the issue Anne is causing in his