preview

Religion As A Source Of Comfort . In 1682, Mary Rowlandson

Good Essays
Open Document
Religion as a Source of Comfort 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…show more content…
Soon after being held in captivity, Mary Rowlandson’s attitude started changing from hopeless to hopeful; “Oh, I may see the wonderful power of God, that my Spirit did not utterly sink under my affliction: still the Lord upheld me with His gracious and merciful spirit, and we were both alive to see the light of the next morning” (Rowlandson 131). Here Rowlandson is talking about how she is able to keep her spirit up even though her daughter is extremely sick and she has no friends to comfort her. She claims she is able to do this because of the great power of God. It seems like her mind is being uplifted by the thought of God, and she is able to focus on the good things she still has in life. I believe without her religious beliefs keeping her mentally healthy throughout all of her hardships, she would have never been able to handle her captivity as well as she did. Even after her daughter died, she is still able to keep herself together; “I have thought since of the wonderful goodness of God to me in preserving me in the use of my reason and senses in that distressed time, that I did not use wicked and violent means to end my own miserable life” (Rowlandson 132). She recognizes looking back that she could have easily decided to take her own life after losing her daughter at such a young and helpless age. It is God who protected her and kept her from doing anything bad to herself at such a low point
Get Access
Related
Get Access