Anne Bradstreet, Emily Dickinson, and Adrienne Rich share
nationality, gender, and an aesthetic tradition, but each expresses
these experiences in the context of her own historical moment.
Puritanism imposed stringent demands on Bradstreet, romanticism
both inspired and restricted Dickinson, and feminism challenged as
well as liberated Rich. Nevertheless, each poet succeeded in
forming a personal vision that counters traditional male poetics.
Their poetry celebrates daily life, demonstrates their commitment
to nurturance rather than dominance, shows their resistance to the
control of both their earthly and heavenly fathers, and affirms
their experience in a world that has often denied women a voice.
Wendy Martin recreates the textures of these women's lives, showing
how they parallel the shifts in the status of American women from
private companion to participant in a wider public life. The three
portraits examine in detail the life and work of the Puritan wife
of a colonial magistrate, the white-robed, reclusive New England
seer, and the modern feminist and lesbian activist. Their poetry,
Martin argues, tells us much about the evolution of feminist and
patriarchal perspectives, from Bradstreet's resigned acceptance of
traditional religion, to Dickinson's private rebellion, to Rich's
public criticism of traditional masculine culture. Together, these
portraits compose the panels of an American triptych.
Beyond the dramatic contrasts between the Puritan and feminist
vision, Martin finds striking parallels in form. An ideal of a new
world, whether it be the city on the hill or a supportive community
of women, inspires both. Like the commonwealth of saints, this
concept of a female collectivity, which all three poets embrace, is
a profoundly political phenomenon based on a pattern of protest and
reform that is deeply rooted in American life. Martin suggests
that, through their belief in regeneration and renewal, Bradstreet
Dickinson, and Rich are part of a larger political as well as
literary tradition. "An American Triptych" both enhances our
understanding of the poets' work as part of the web of American
experience and suggests the outlines of an American female
poetic.
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