Marriage was a central relationship in Puritan society. Men and women married young and were expected to remain together until they died. Puritan society did not tolerate divorce or adultery, although cases of both are certainly present in the historical record. Husbands and wives were supposed to adhere to the Biblical definition of marriage, which emphasized mutual love and respect. However, Puritans were not supposed to place all of their efforts in the relationship on Earth, but rather, to glorify God through their union. As the Poetry Foundation's page on Bradstreet explains, marriage was very important and the focus on family was crucial; however, “the love between wife and husband was not supposed to distract from devotion to God. In Bradstreet’s sonnets, her erotic attraction to her husband is central, and these poems are more secular than religious.”