The Puritans believed that sexual intercourse was part of life, and were only allowed to have sex if one was married. Their number one rule was that sex should not interfere with religion. Any Puritan that was not married could not fornicate, and if you were married it was against the law to commit adultery. Rape was also against the law as it should be. What resonated with me was the severity of the consequences a Puritan would endure if they broke the law. Death or whippings were the result if any Puritans decided to break the law.
I was surprised at the fact that they did not give servants the ability to marry or allow them to follow the laws set in place by the Puritans. Servants were not allowed to marry on their own free will, and in my opinion forced them to break the law by participating in salacious activities. I did not understand why they placed such severe punishments on sexual habits that are natural instincts to humans. I was intrigued as to why so many Puritans would risk their lives for the thrill or satisfaction of sexual intercourse. It seemed that people could not control their sexual desires, especially a society that portrayed them as pure.
Even though they were Puritans, I do not believe they were puritanical because they constantly would break the law, and went as far as using set laws to deceive one another. The case of Elizabeth Wells comes to mind. She accused other men of fathering her children, ones that were rich and well-off. Also they would rape women in broad daylight. There were constant sexual offense and there were even cases of domestic abuse. This is not wholesome, and in my opinion they were not upholding their morals. It seemed that they had
