Mary Rowlandson's Captivity

Rowlandson is a Puritan. She says in the first few days of her capture that God was punishing her because she stopped practicing parts of her religion. “I 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; … that it was easy for me to see how righteous it was with God to cut off the thread of my life and cast me out of His presence forever (third remove).” Mary realizes that although God is punishing her, he also has forgiven her because he allowed her to live while many others died. He is giving her a chance to repent, which is a

Mary Rowlandson was a devoted, Puritan woman of the 1600’s who would eventually go on to pave the way for an entire genre—the captivity genre/narrative. She had several family members murdered and was held captive by Native Americans, but was eventually reunited with her fellow Puritans. She details her experiences in A Narrative of Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. Rowlandson showcases her biblical typology many times and her story and a prime example shown is when she writes, “… my heart began to fail: and I fell aweeping… Although I had met with so much affliction… yet I could not shed one tear…” (Rowlandson 279). She uses typology to understand what is going on in her life and around her and this is displayed when she adds, “But now I may say as Psalm 137.1, ‘By the Rivers of Babylon, there we sate down: yea, we wept when we remembered Zion,” (Rowlandson 279). She used the bible to understand her experiences rather than to see what it is like. She wrote during a very devout, religious era and

Even with the nightmares happening around her, Rowlandson is able to avoid the horrific fates others undergo by staying focused on her religion and God’s work. She describes an encounter with a fellow captive, saying that one poor woman “came to a sad end, as some of the company told me in my travel: She having much grief upon her Spirit, about her miserable condition, being so near her time, she would be often asking the Indians to let her go home” (77). Ultimately, the Indians, being annoyed by her constant begging and pleas, decide to burn both this woman and her small child alive. However, unlike that unlucky woman, Rowlandson survives because, instead of pleading to her captors, she takes her pleas to God and turns toward her religion, which keeps her mind healthy and positive throughout her tribulations. She is mentally tough due to her focus on positive religious messages, making her able to handle her situation well and ultimately leading to her survival.

She writes “And here I cannot but take notice of the strange providence of God in preserving the heathen...”

She was beaten, shackled and “was wet with the dew of all the men who had covered her before” him(4). He quickly recognizes her because his mother is also an Ila woman. He takes care of her — washing her disarrayed body, starting a fire for warmth and protection, and hunting for food. He also believed in fasting for ten consecutive days as a way of a spiritual cure those who are suffering, “in this way the spirit of the dead one grows weak, finally it lets go and journeys to the land of the soul” (5). He grew weak, yet still taking care of her. They began to love one another, and did not want to be apart. Taking her first steps, she ventured to short travels, but was not ready for a lonesome journey. With each trial, the journey becomes a little farther. Twelve days later, she was gone. He holds himself back from calling her name aloud to take her back forever. He continues on with his journey to the village, hunting for food as he returns to the village not

In 1682, Mary Rowlandson published her captivity narrative, the most famous in early American Literature. Mary Rowlandson 's captivity greatly substantiated her religious beliefs in God. Her major strategy for survival during her eleven week captivity consisted of beliefs that God had a plan for everything, and would protect her through all obstacles. In times of doubt, she would turn to her Bible and rejoice that god was looking out for her. She believed that if she waited out her time, and allowed for God to do what He intended, she would eventually go back to living a normal life, and would not be held in captivity forever. With this strategy Mary Rowlandson is able to remain calm through many

After an extended period of mourning, her father asked her why she would not remove her veil, for surely "the woman...led you into wickedness. How long will you mourn her, who deserves no mourning?" to which the girl replied, "It is my own...sin that I mourn." From then on she slunk about in rags and with ashes covering her face, forgotten by most everyone, and always sitting by the hearth, refusing to wash up, for she was "glad to be humble before God and men."

Mary Rowlandson’s feelings toward food, even in times of starvation, are shaped by her belief that God provides (or does not provide) everything. Three weeks go by, and Mary Rowlandson finds herself

The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson reveals that the ghastly depiction of the Indian religion (or what Rowlandson perceives as a lack of religion) in the narrative is directly related to the ideologies of her Puritan upbringing. Furthermore, Rowlandson's experiences in captivity and encounter with the new, or "Other" religion of the Indians cause her rethink, and question her past; her experiences do not however cause her to redirect her life or change her ideals in any way.

Even Rowlandson, under her conditions, could not give up her religion during her imprisonment; consequently, she went out of her way to read her bible without the knowledge of her captors. Her actions are not congruent to what a hostage would do in the twentieth century. Today, we have learned logic that allows us to realize that if we withhold what's impulsively wanted, the long-term rewards can bring more happiness. Although Rowlandson was never caught practicing her religion, she did not consider that she might never be physically able to read her bible again.

Mary Rowlandson was born in a Puritan society. Her way of was that of an orthodox Puritan which was to be very religious and see all situations are made possible by God. She begins her writing by retelling a brutal description of the attack on Lancaster by the Natives. Rowlandson spends enough time interacting with the Natives to realize these people live normal, secular lives. She had the opportunity work for a profit which was not accepted when she lived as devout Puritan women in Puritan colony. Mary Rowlandson knows that she must expose the good nature of the Natives and she must rationalize her “boldness” through quoting the Bible.

These two statements are very important because they are the backbone of the whole book. These are the strongest parts that support the women she is. She is so hand in hand with God that she doesn’t even once criticize the reasons she’s in captive but as I have stated before, she blames herself for not praying enough. In the sixth remove she explains her circumstance, her being surrounded by her former enemies amidst no Christians at all but herself. She exclaims, “Oh the experience that I have had of the goodness of God, to me and mine!” Without any form of disbelief she praises the kindness of God. The beauty of her relationship with God is that she mentions no matter what kind of situation she is in whether it be near death or with luxuries. And she sees every good thing that happens to her as a sign of God. To sum it up, everything that has happened to her was pre-planned and the grace of God.

The life one treasures and takes for granted today can be so easily erased in the blink of an eye and gone tomorrow. Therefore, not only is it important to cherish how one lives for today and now, but it’s also important to how one can overcome the misfortunes and hardships they may suffer; tragedy can make a person or break a person. Mary Rowlandson’s experience during her eleven weeks of captivity as documented in “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” is a perfect answer to the above argument. The eleven weeks she experienced as a prisoner of her Indian captors proves to be a pivotal occasion in her life, which changes her feelings, lifestyle, and attitude as well towards her abductors. By the end of her horrifying experience, she rises more profoundly grounded in every way: mentally, physically, and spiritually with a new outlook on life, closer to God, and a newfound opinion of the Indians.

Throughout Mary Rowlandson's account of being captured by Native Americans, she mentions her family frequently; however, she hardly mentions them by name or talks about what they were like. This immediately creates a feeling of distance in the reader's mind, because it could suggest many things about what her family was like before they got separated. She also shows us what looks to be a great deal of distance between her and her youngest daughter Sarah who died in her arms. When Rowlandson first mentions her youngest daughter she calls her a "poor wounded babe" (130) which suggests that there is a distance between the two. However, this may not be the way that the events actually happened because she wrote the narrative six years after she was reunited with her family. This opens up the idea that this may also have been a way for her to cope with losing a child in her arms. It could also show that she may have not been the only person to write the narrative. These two ideas work together because if Rowlandson does not have to write all of the painful parts, she would not have had to relive the guilt or sorrow. Mary Rowlandson makes the reader think she is distant from her family because she uses it as a way to cope with the pain of being separated from them, and to show the Puritans that being close to god will help you with any pain.

violent things she had endured. She always talks to God asking him to give her