More examination of this kind of relationship is linked to the relationship between husband and wife, which has shown the universal equity of the people of the world. For example, it was noted that the Plymouth colony was controlled by the General Court, which has a provision that widows were entitled to about one third of their husband’s land and one third of the husband’s movable wealth or property. In case the deceased husband failed to grant this minimum right to the wife, the court would have the right to nullify any form of will in favor of the widow (Demos, p.85). In fact, the widows enjoyed more rights in case they remarried, by having legal provisions that would prevent their next husband to accumulate her wealth in any way (Demos, p.86). In effect, it is evident that women had the option of getting into the marriage as equal partners, thus eliminating the concept of discrimination in terms of gender imbalance in the right and privileges to property ownership.
However, this kind of responsibility comes with lots of equality in terms of responsibility in the world business. According to Demos, in certain circumstances, women were found to own property in taverns, sell alcohol, and, moreover consume these brews in characteristically modern society (P.89). In this aspect, it can be observed that Demons is trying to dismiss the old literature materials that are seen to deny that this kind of lifestyle occurred among the Puritans. Basically, the reason why they settled in the New World was to develop a place where they could express their Christian life, thus influencing other people’s lives all over the world. Their main intention of living a pure life was to please their god. But these facts seemed less explained in the way they owned the tavern. In fact, the author has illustrated that these women sold liquor during worshiping hours (Demos, p.90). In this aspect, Demos illustrate that women were not basically confined with traditional confinement as illustrated by other historians. Basically, they would involve themselves in activities that expressed their ability to exercise their freedom of existence in a society that was regarded as archaic in its treatment of women. In other words, the perception of the people to continue believing that pilgrims’ lives were full of gender imbalance was untrue, as women were had the freedom to drink just like men, dispense their most aggressive side without any societal prejudice.
The use of material possessions to elaborate Plymouth’s physical artifacts suggests a lot of information dissemination in the overall analysis of the case of social and economic life. In the 17th Century, Plymouth families used materials like houses, house foundations, furniture, tools, utensils, and clothing, which basically defined their lifestyle. The author has used this notion through the use of artifacts, which do serve as the benchmark for understanding these people’s early life. These physical artifacts illustrates how the people of Plymouth used tools, shelter, and clothing to keep them human enough, but did not indicate their purpose in anyway. In fact, even with this kind of artifact, the people did not understand the level of importance this material had on them (Demos, xvii).
The author has managed to increase his sources that he use to gather information on the issue, making his work more exhaustive in matters of social approach to historical investigations. In fact, the author uses information such as story-and-a-half buildings to analyze the order of the access available in various houses. In some cases, he elaborates that the people of Plymouth had staircase pressed chimney, and some even used ladder as well. The illustration is done by the use of information from court orders which presented blood on staircase, on a murder case that led to blood shade (Demos, p.31). Basically, the author has used a lot of information to from Plymouth Plantation, Inc., which shows a lot as far as Old Colony foundation may be concerned. The artifacts involve summary of information involving first people’s lives. It is clear that the author was able to combine court records which entailed some physical artifacts that would lead to more understanding of the life and settlement of the Pilgrims in Plymouth.
Everybody would agree that cultural changes occur overtime, as society responds to new environments and social conditions. Demos thus illustrates how the environment led to the evolvement of pilgrims in their early life, through analysis of information from the daily life a pilgrim family. In this case, the geographical and social mobility would be essential in the life changes of the pilgrims, developing into various changes of a family system. However, there are some specific ideals that the pilgrims carried with them throughout this life cycle.
For instance, the concept of marriage was the core of people’s life cycle is another area that Demos illustrates to have been misconceived. In the past, that is, during the colonial era, there has been a belief that marriage was meant to support the subservient roles on women. Demos illustrates another author who believed that for any person to find salvation, there was need to apply the wisdom needed to allow a man to head the family, as the family looked up to them as the real guide of the family’s destination (Demos, P.91). In fact, the gender neutrality among the Puritans suggests that divorce was permitted, especially when a spouse was found guilty of dissertation, the husband’s bigamy practice, impotent and adultery (Demos, p.93). However, cases of abuse would be helped through court interventions that would be tasked with helping the feuding couples especially on simpler matters in the daily operations of the family members.
In short, Demos has managed to elaborate how the new environment has led to various changes in the society, such as the life cycle of women; how women have evolved in terms of rights and social representation of women, such as the right of a widow to own a property of their husbands, significantly illustrating the growing equality between men and women in Plymouth. In other words, Demos believes that everyday family life in Plymouth is demonstrated by various changes and evolution, but some things just remained constant amidst various social changes. The fact that some artifacts have been maintained by the society indicate that the society do not let go of everything as far as their past is concerned. That is, the retention of some behavioral conducts such as belief in God, widening the rights of women and structural artifacts illustrates how we value our past, irrespective of how treacherous it has been throughout our evolution.