What are the similarities among these grave stones? How would you describe the conventions of mortuary art in New England, 1650-1700? What might the grave stones tell us about the colonists’ understanding of death? Are they afraid? Looking forward to an afterlife?
2 thoughts on “Puritan Way of Death”
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All of the gravestones seem to follow an overarching theme of the inevitability of death. The hourglass in particular was symbolic of their limited time on earth. The designs of the gravestones were all relatively similar despite the large age gaps in the deceased. This alludes to our previous discussion in class about the way Puritans viewed childhood. Images like the skull and bones and ‘Death’ fighting ‘Time’ to extinguish the light (life) carved into the stone had a very grim tone that suggested that even though the prospect of going to the afterlife was very appealing, death was still something that people feared. However, it appears that the promise of an afterlife provided comfort to the family of the deceased because it ensured that one day they would be able to see their loved ones again and that their spirit would live on somewhere else beyond earth. I think that the Puritans feared death, but the promise of an afterlife helped to lessen their fear and gave them a reason to find joy in times of hardship.
All the gravestones are very detailed, and all share similar detailing. Hourglasses, skulls with wings, and crossbones are all prevelant no matter how old the deceased was. All of the headstones are also the same shape. The readings, along with the headstones, suggest that the colonists understood death as something beyond their power; that God controlled it and wanted that person for a purpose, and they accepted that. In all of the poems Anne Bradstreet wrote, she is sorrowful, yet she is consoled by thoughts like, “thou with thy Savior art in endless bliss.” She recognizes that although they were taken from her, they have a place in an “everlasting state” with “endless joy.” They look forward to this afterlife and it allows the grieving to know their loved ones are in a place in Gods kingdom, where they will eventually join them.