“A Narrative of the Captivity…” by Rowlandson

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Religious Culture
Literary Elements
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson is a short history regarding the firsthand experience of Mary Rowlandson during her imprisonment with the Wampanoag tribe. Mary Rowlandson, a Puritan mother from Lancaster, Massachusetts in the current day, describes the Indian attack of her house during King Phillip’s War. During the 20th of February, 1676 attack, Rowlandson was captured for two months and twenty three days. During these dreadful weeks, Rowlandson details the duration of her confinement and the horrible conditions she endures. Despite her struggles and suffering, Rowlandson recognizes God’s grace on several occasions, thus, indicating how religion was most important to her during her captivity than finding herself within the struggles. The theme of religious culture, using similes, imagery, motif, and symbolism, demonstrates Rowlandson’s inability to draw a neat line between the Native American and Christian cultures by describing it as savagery with racial prejudice.

Religious Culture

Regarding Mary Rowlandson, the central focus of the tale is religious culture. Kathryn Zabelle Derounian-Stodola claims, “Only by enduring the horrible wilderness voyage does Rowlandson’s religious sensitivity become more refined,” which is paradoxical (Derounian-Stodola 36). The culture is noteworthy because it displays the pervasive impact of God on human events. Rowlandson asserts her belief in divine intervention and God’s benevolence in the face of both good and ill fortune and occurrences large and small. She claims that there is no such thing as evil that does not come from God and is not intended to benefit his chosen people, in this case the English. She says that the harm the Native Americans did to the English was God’s way of making the English realize how much they depend on him so they would follow his ways.

Rowlandson describes the religious culture in terms of Puritan supremacy and divine providence. This foundational Puritan concept is distinguished by its stress on the holiness and sovereignty of the Almighty God. In contrast, according to Deborah J. Dietrich, the Puritans saw themselves as divinely appointed and understood their own adventures in epic terms (432). In light of this, Rowlandson learns to see a heavenly order within the surrounding disorder, and she is able to consider the Indians as God’s emissaries of suffering (Dietrich 432). Puritan values emphasize the belief in direct divine influence and, more specifically, the conviction of Puritan superiority in God’s sight. Rowlandson explains in the passage that “we must trust in God alone, placing our whole reliance on him” (Rowlandson 272). Rowlandson’s view of religion is also contrasted by Ralph in Self-reliance, says that “the virtue in most request is conformity” (340). In this case, Rowlandson stays strong to her religion and depends on her Bible for conform, but Emerson finds solution on conforming to the demands of the captors, by adhering to their standards, rules, or laws.

In addition, Rowlandson’s description of her religious culture reveals several cultural distinctions in relation to racial prejudice. Her allusions to Christian Native Americans, for instance, are filled with brutality and bad language (Kirchwey 52). In order to highlight an example of Christian Native Americans’ betrayal, she creates a bogus historical assertion. For example, Rowlandson writes, “Many Christians lying in their blood, some here, some there, like a company of sheep torn by wolves” (264). By characterizing Christians as sheep, she portrays them as biblically pure and as God’s chosen people. By contrast, Rowlandson portrays Native Americans as callous, predatory, and demonic monsters by using the name “wolves.” Her analogy sets the setting for her narrative framework, which portrays the English colonists as God’s anointed and the Native Americans as the scourge sent by God to torment the English in order to lead them back to the teachings of the Lord. Her story, thus, speaks for both religious and racial bigotry.

Rowlandson uses race, which plays a crucial role in expressing culture. Rowlandson’s narrative portrays an unintentional culture with regards to racial prejudice and savagery. In the narrative, Rowlandson describes the death of Wettimore’s child as, “…my Mistrisses Papoos was sick, and it died that night, and there was one benefit in it, that there was more room” (271). In this case, while one might expect Mrs. Rowlandson, a God fearing person, to sympathize with the death of Wettimore’s child, she feels none. Such a lack of sympathy could be due to hate against Native Americans, a toxic view of Wettimore, or simply due to her own callousness. These cultural differences create a negative perception and inculcate live experiences that teach certain beliefs against other cultures due to racism.

Literary Elements

Simile

Mrs. Rowlandson employs similes to depict the cultural and religious distinctions between her own civilization and that of the Native Americans. As an illustration of her religious and racial prejudice towards Native Americans, Rowlandson writes, “The Indians were as thick as the trees” (262). After journeying through the bush, Rowlandson makes this remark when she reaches the peak of a hill and witnesses her whole group setting up camp beneath. By comparing the Native Americans to trees, Rowlandson shows how they are part of the scary, endless, strange nature that is so different from her home.

In addition, Rowlandson compares Native American bullets to hail. During their assault on Lancaster, according to Rowlandson, “the bullets seemed to fly like hail” (278). Rowlandson compares the Native Americans’ bullets to hail in this instance. The biblical scourge of hail recalls the idea of divine providence. Hail is a violent, natural force that pelts its target continually and swiftly. Therefore, Rowlandson’s parallel shows how cruel and inevitable it was for the Native Americans to mistreat the captives, while her religious view of hail as a sign from heaven gives her spiritual comfort.

Imagery

As a literary device, Mrs. Rowlandson employs imagery to depict the Lancaster assault. Rowlandson portrays the assault on Lancaster by the Narragansets with vivid imagery and gruesome detail. For example, when Rowlandson depicts the assault as “wallowing in their blood,” she elicits an emotional response from the reader (Rowlandson 265). Her delineations of the flames over their heads, the menacing Native Americans outside, and those wounded or battling inside illustrate the pervasiveness and inevitability of the onslaught. She also explains in great detail Native American traditions such as the big dance (a pre-war ceremony) and her mistress’s sense of fashion. Rowlandson seems scared by the pre-war ceremony and the way her mistress is dressed, but her detailed description may be hiding a deeper interest.

Motif

Rowlandson gives an exaggerated depiction of religious culture. For instance, she first refused to eat the crumbs that were presented to her. In addition, Rowlandson sees her own propensity for barbarism when she eats half-raw horse flesh and bear meat (Rowlandson 270). She thought of herself as a “civilized,” high-status English colonial lady, but her need for and enjoyment of bloody flesh made her seem like a heathen. According to Burnham, when Rowlandson is carried farther into the woods, her subconscious association with her Indian captors increases (Burnham 62). The harder she fights to obtain food, compassionate treatment, a more favorable shelter, and insights from the Indians, the deeper she enters their economy, but as partners, and as individuals who determine her (Burnham 60). This behavior indicates that she has adapted to her situation and is attempting to discover herself within the confines of her captivity. The animalistic aspect of her need for and enjoyment of bloodied flesh contrasts with her identification as a “civilized,” high-status, English colonial lady.

Symbolism

Symbolism is also used to convey a variety of religious beliefs in the story. The Baquaug River acts as both a setting and a metaphor in the narrative. The Baquaug River represents God’s impact on King Philip’s War and Mrs. Rowlandson’s unwavering faith despite good and bad fate. The Baquaug River is crossed in the fifth and sixteenth removes. In the fifth removal, the Native Americans successfully crossed the river just as the English arrived, preventing them from proceeding. Rowlandson regards this occurrence as “the strange providence of God in preserving the heathen” (270). As a result, the river represents God’s impact on King Philip’s fight.

The Baquaug river also serves as a symbol of Mrs. Rowlandson’s unwavering faith in the face of both good and terrible luck. She quotes the same Bible verse both when she crosses the river without getting her feet wet and when she must wade knee-deep in the icy water: “When thou passeth through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee… (265). As such, in this religious culture, the topic of tenacity and endurance is discoursed, and as such, the story defines the concept of culture unintentionally. The apron worn by Mrs. Rowlandson is also a sign of cultural identity. In her apron, Mrs. Rowlandson keeps her Bible, food, sewing equipment, and maybe other belongings. The apron acts as a survival kit, since the Bible provides her with strength and the sewing tools provide her with a marketable talent.

Characterization and Tone

As Mrs. Rowlandson adjusts to her circumstances, learning to eat and cook different meals, foraging for ground nuts, exchanging her sewing abilities, and experiencing Native Americans’ friendliness, she does not lose a sense of her English identity. She accomplishes this by framing her situation with her religion, often reading the Bible, seeking out other English prisoners, and cultivating her biases. Her feeling of superiority is a vital weapon for her to separate herself from the Native Americans and keep her sense of identity via her tendency to turn to her Bible (Farrell 67). Notably, Rowlandson utilizes different tones and moods throughout his storytelling. In this scenario, as Rowlandson navigates an assault, imprisonment, and an intersection of cultures, her tone varies between dramatic, politically righteous, devout, interested, and exhausted. For instance, she says, I lifted up my heart to God, hoping Redemption was not far off: and the rather because their insolency grew worse and worse” (296). As such, she feels a sense of contempt for being treated below her status, as evidenced by her use of the word “insolency,” a hence, dramatic tone.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Rowland’s narrative presents a European, Puritan, and female viewpoint on Native Americans. Rowlandson could not acquire understanding as an abductor, despite the fact that this provided a more important reflection of cultural expectations and variety. Nonetheless, this bias indicated that she was able to manipulate circumstances to her advantage. Even so, the historical background of her time in jail makes the story factually valuable.

Works Cited

Burnham, Michelle. “The Journey Between: Liminality and Dialogism in Mary White Rowlandson’s Captivity Narrative.” Early American Literature, vol. 28, no. 1, 1993, p. 60. Web.

Derounian-Stodola, Kathryn Zabelle. “The Indian Captivity Narratives of Mary Rowlandson and Olive Oatman: Case Studies in the Continuity, Evolution, and Exploitation of Literary Discourse.” Studies in the Literary Imagination, vol. 27, 1994, pp. 33–46. Web.

Dietrich, Deborah J. “Mary Rowlandson’s Great Declension.”Women’s Studies, vol. 24, no. 5, 1995, pp. 427-441. Web.

Farrell, Molly. “‘Beyond My Skil’: Mary Rowlandson’s Counting.”Early American Literature, vol. 47, no. 1, 2012, pp. 59–87. Web.

Kirchwey, Karl. “The Misericord of Mary Rowlandson: A revisionist reading in seven removes.” Province Town Arts, 2020, pp. 52-55. Web.

Ralph, Waldo Emerson. “Self-Reliance.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Beginnings to 1865. 10th ed., edited by Robert S. Levine., Sandra M. Gustafson., Michael A. Elliott., Lisa Siraganian., Amy Hungerford and GerShun Avilez, W.W. Norton & Co., 2017, pp. 546- 563.

Rowlandson, Mary. “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Beginnings to 1865. 10th ed., edited by Robert S. Levine., Sandra M. Gustafson., Michael A. Elliott., Lisa Siraganian., Amy Hungerford and GerShun Avilez, W.W. Norton & Co., 2017, pp. 262-285.

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