Gonzalez Garcia 1

Cristina Gonzalez Garcia

Dr. Paula Kot

Eng B 215

September 8, 2007

Mary Rowlandson’s experiences of being held captive by Indians shows not only her abilities to

survive, evaluate her situation and that of those around her but most importantly remain true to

her beliefs and her role as a puritan woman. In her novel The Captivity and Restoration of Mary

Rowlandson she not only appeals to the public by offering the horrors of her capture which

correlate to the same stories of the time, with captured and killed puritans. She also parallels her

struggles to those of Biblical proportions as many of the puritans thought their struggles were

nothing more than the trials and tribulations of the holy savior.

Mary Rowlandson’s experience could be considered a rite of passage for the time, as it

alters challenges and develops her personal identity. Her existence has become liminal, betwixt

between the puritan and Indian societies. She has to adapt to the Indian ways of life in order to

survive yet holds on to her Christian beliefs as much as possible. For example when an Indian,

her capturer asks her for a piece of her apron, a staple for the role of puritan woman, she declines

despite the fact that she could be killed, or have been forced to do so (251).

According to Rowlandson the captivities of the Puritan people reflect God’s displeasure.

Throughout her writings the following could be easily derived;’ God is punishing us because he

loves us. It’s a test so they renew and strengthen our spiritual faith.’ In her day to day life she had

to find methods of preserving herself as a puritan. When her capturers give her a bible she says “

It has become my guide by day and pillow by night’ She looks to the bible as a literal guide to

Gonzalez Garcia 2

the problems that lay before her. She would look to other captivities such as the persecution and

capture of the Israelites and compare that to her current situation. At night the pillow suggests

that she literally used it to keep her head off the ground, but also is a metaphor for the comfort

that she had with the teachings of god.

Works Cited

Rowlandson Mary. A Narrative of the Captivity & Restoration. The Norton Anthology of

American Literature. ED. Nina Baym. 7th ed. NY: W W Norton & Company, 2007. 235-

255.