To My Dear and Loving Husband

The key symbolism of riches and materialism allows Bradstreet to contrast worldly wealth against the emotional wealth her marriage provides. These riches are embodied in two symbols, the “whole mines of gold” mentioned in Line 5 and “all the riches” of “the East” in Line 6. In insisting that she “prize[s]” (Line 5) her husband’s love more than the world’s wealth, she identifies herself both as a loyal wife who values marital connection above all else and as a Puritan who believes that all worldly goods are mere transient vanities.

The ideal of balance is an important motif in “To My Dear and Loving Husband.” The speaker emphasizes that the love within her marriage is, above all, mutual: Both spouses nurture a deep affection for one another and give one another happiness and fulfillment. The motif appears in the opening lines, which celebrate the fact that “If ever man were loved by wife” (Line 2), then the speaker’s husband is loved by her, while likewise acknowledging, “If ever wife was happy in a man” (Line 3), then she has also known that happiness. Husband and wife function as “two” (Line 1) separate people united as “one” (Line 1), thanks to their steady reciprocity.