What is the condition of Mary Rowlandson’s life and spirit before her captivity? How do you know? What are the conventions, language and images through which she communicates her state? After reading the last few pages of the narrative, how would you say Rowlandson has been transformed by captivity?
5 thoughts on “Mary Rowlandson and the Captivity Narrative”
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Mary Rowlandson was not just the perfect example of a Puritan woman but she was a great political tool to further propaganda against Native Americans. She is supposed to come across as the “ideal, moral” woman. This is illustrated when she states that she would normally accept death than to be taken by savages, but that in the face of death she could not. She is supposed to come across as heroic, everyone can relate to wanting to follow “proper” ideals till death but that naturally we all will slip up. Her mistake is understandable. Throughout her story she continues to have faith in God, which illustrates that even though she is in the company of Native Americans, and her chastity is tainted, she can still be moral. Her story deflects whatever blame the Puritans may place on her and instead paints her as a victim and the Native Americans as barbarians.
Though I would agree with the previous comments that Mary Rowlandson lived a privileged life dedicated to Puritan values, I was struck by her defensive allusions to prior sins as she tried to think of the justification for her hardship. During a Sabbath day of the third remove, she “then remembered how careless I had been of God’s holy time; how many Sabbaths I had lost and misspent, and how evilly I had walked in God’s sight” (261). During the eighth remove, when she is asked whether she would smoke tobacco, Rowlandson admits, “I remember with shame how formerly, when I had taken two or three pipes, I was presently ready for another, such a bewitching thing it is. But I thank God, He has now given me power over it” (268). Again, Rowlandson admits a prior sin and credits God with her ability to overcome. Rowlandson had indeed been a privileged Puritan wife, but we realize through her own admissions that she was susceptible to temptations and was not the strict, untainted Puritan we may have imagined.
Each of these pangs of Puritan regret strengthened Rowlandson’s resolve to strictly follow the Lord and the advice of his Scriptures, which she was clearly quite familiar with already. Though she travels to the depths of despair, Rowlandson is quick to credit God with each fortuitous or life-saving moment in her journey.
I found her assertion in the last few pages that “not one of them [the Natives] offered me the least abuse of unchastity to me…Though some are ready to say I speak it for my own credit; but I speak it in the presence of God…” extremely interesting (285). Rowlandson clearly cares about her Puritan image after her ordeal, and whether true or not, wants to assert her continued purity. She maintains that she is glad the Lord has showed her afflictions because she now knows “the vanity of these outward things” (288). “I have learned to look beyond present and smaller troubles,” she says, and Rowlandson seems committed to a new positive, grateful life committed fully to God.
Mary Rowlandson, before captivity was the essential Puritan woman. The wife of a Lancaster minister, Mrs Rowlandson, even in a time of great despair–surrounded by wounded and dead loved ones–holds tight to her faith in God. The daughter of a rich man, it is likely she never had reason to want for anything, that is until her life is dangled before her eyes. There was a fire in her that allowed her desire to maintain her dignity to outweigh her desire to live, as she noted she would rather be killed by the invaders than taken as their hostage. Once the attack is upon her, however, Mrs Rowlandson realizes her desire to live does outweigh her pride, and she finds the strength to move forward, despite the treachery, through her faith.
A continued reference to God is prevalent throughout Mrs Rowlandson’s account of the capture. The setting into which she is forced acts as an additional captor, looming around her, unfamiliar, just as the men who have taken her. She remarks, “the swamp by which we lay was, as it were, a deep dungeon, and an exceeding high and steep hill before it” (266). Having been raised in a life of privilege, the trek is as daunting as the capture itself.
By the end of the narrative, although there is generous mention of the Lord throughout, Mrs Rowlandson’s appreciation of God’s goodness seems to have grown, as her spirit waned. With the experience behind her, she seems less fiery than she did when first captured, fervently speaking of the horrors befallen her and her family. She seems to have reached a place of resignation, in which she thanks God for that which he has given her, but does not have the spark she once possessed.
Before her captivity, Mary Rowlandson follows the just, goodwill of God. When her eldest sister sees the horrible sights and is shot, Mary “[hopes] she is reaping the fruit of her good labors, being faithful to the service of God in her place” (258). She cannot confidently know whether her sister is in heaven. If so, she would understand God’s will, which is impossible and irrational. Also, Mary expresses anger towards God because no one escapes the Indians hand untouched. However, she later expresses gratuity towards His power because he saves twenty-four from death. She reacts to each of God’s individual actions.
Rowlandson is transformed by the captivity because she not only follows God’s providence, as before, but she now understands his plan. Confused by God helping the enemy triumph and rejoice in victory over the Christians, Mary questions His “strange providence” (284). She says that in captivity, she would have given anything “for her freedom, or to have been a servant to a Christian” and escape the savagery of the Indians (288). However, Mary continues to follow his plan, and in the aftermath, gains knowledge from the experience. She learns “to look beyond present and smaller troubles,” and as a result, God grants her and her family, wealth and health. Through the brutal eleven weeks of God testing Mary, she finally comprehends the wonderful power of God and his plan.
Mary Rowlandson had a privileged lifestyle before her captivity. She played the traditional role of a mother and wife and loved her family dearly. This is demonstrated by the overwhelmingly loneliness she felt when the attack on the town separated them. Additionally, being the housewife of a wealthy man meant she did not have to engage in many outdoor activities or manual labor. During her journey with the Native Americans, her request to stay in a vacant house as an alternative to camping outside indicates that she was not accustomed to such poor accommodations. Rowlandson was also extremely religious. Throughout the time she spends with the Native Americans, she continually refers to passages in the Bible and describes the strength she gathers from God’s presence. The hardships Rowlandson endured during her captivity minimized her reliance on materialistic possessions and decreased her sense of entitlement.