Marriage in American Literature: A Deep Dive

Marriage in American Literature

Marriage is one of the most prominent themes portrayed in some American literary works, and there are different conceptions of the issue.

Washington Irving

In Rip Van Winkle, the protagonist sees marriage as a punishment and a source of unhappiness. Rip Van Winkle is depicted as a humble person who helps everyone that needs him and who has no evilness inside. However, his relationship with his wife is different. In fact, when he wakes up and finds out that 20 years have passed and also that everyone he knows has disappeared, Rip feels sad, but not for the loss of Dame Van Winkle.

Anne Bradstreet

In Letter to my Loving Husband, there is a different approach to marriage. The poem is a praise to her husband, whom she loves deeply and believes that the love she feels for him will last even in the afterlife. In Puritan society, marriage was the central relationship, considered the most important thing that should be respected. Because of this, Anne Bradstreet wrote her poem.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

In The Yellow Wallpaper, marriage is seen as imprisonment and as a critique of patriarchal structures, where men are thought to have the power to deprive women of their freedom. John, the protagonist's husband, keeps her secluded in a summer house, and particularly, in a distressing room, where at first she does not feel comfortable.

Nathaniel Hawthorne

In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is harshly criticized and therefore punished for not respecting her husband by committing adultery. Thus, she does not have the same respect for marriage as Puritans have, the reason why she is rejected by society.

In conclusion, the topic of marriage has been interpreted in many different ways. On the one hand, the Puritans have a conception of marriage as an important entity for reaching eternal life in Heaven, as we can see in the poems of Anne Bradstreet. In The Scarlet Letter, the concept of marriage is portrayed in the same manner, but criticizing Puritan beliefs. On the other hand, Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses the topic of marriage to criticize patriarchal structures, while in Irving's Rip Van Winkle, marriage is treated superficially and without any connotation.