MARY Rowlandson - Summary American Literature To 1900 PDF

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MARY ROWLANDSON (c.1637-1711) WORK: A Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson (published in 1682). GENRE: Captivity narrative. HISTORICAL CONTEXT: Time of the first settlers in the New World. The raid of Lancaster during King’s Philip War (1675-1676). BELIEFS: Religious. Belief in divine Providence. THEMES: Her spiritual ordeal as a captive by the Indians. AUTHOBIOGRAPHICAL ELEMENTS: She was a settler and a housewife who was kidnapped by the Indians. FOCALIZATION/POINT OF VIEW: First-person narrative. Subjective point of view. PURPOSE: Didactic. Rowlandson. Rowlandson claimed to have written it for the edification of her surviving children and friends. AUDIENCE: Originally, the narrative was addressed to her surviving children and friends. STYLE: Plain style, characterized by being simple and direct. TONE: anxious, troubled, didactic. IMAGERY: vivid description of the Indians’ assault. NARRATIVE MODES: Report/comment/description depending on the excerpt. RHETORICAL STRATEGIES: RHETORICAL DEVICES: Use of Biblical quotations and metaphors, e.g. comparing her child with a lamb. SELF-REPRESENTATION: She presents her community as a vulnerable target for the savage natives and she is a powerless victim who finds strength in God. Through her spiritual ordeal she emerges as a wiser and stronger person. She does not conceal her weaknesses, but she is also physically and emotionally tough. She acknowledges her spiritual weakness. PORTRAYAL OF INDIANS: She initially gives a negative portrayal of the Indians, using derogative terms: hellhound dogs, beasts, pagans, and heathens, but she eventually portrays them in a more positive and humanizing way. She comes to understand them and nearly develop some kind of friendship. The narrative considers the Indians’ attacks and Rowlandson and the other settlers’ ordeals as God’s punishment for their sins. The event, as the King Philip’s war are not seen as a consequence of the plight of the Natives, who are mere instruments used by God in order to punish sinners. THE CAPTIVITY NARRATIVE GENRE: From the violent and brutal clash between Indians and British colonist in Massachusetts during King Philip’s War (1675-1676) grew a new literary genre: “Indian Captivities”. Some colonist who had been prisoners of the Indian wrote autobiographical accounts of their experiences. These tales became the first bestsellers in America literature. These accounts of captivity continued to be successful until the 19th century. The early examples of the genre emphasized devotional aspects while later tales focused mainly on adventures aspects. A Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson: Rowlandson’s account of her 3-mongh capture by a hostile Indian force during King Philip’s War. It became one of the most popular narratives of its type in Britain and in America during the 17th and 18th centuries, going through 30 editions after its first publication in 1682. The captivity narrative grew out of the violent struggle between the Natives and the English colonists. As they moved away from their religious roots,

they became more politically influential in a society which had to justify western expansion. Mary Rowlandson created a prototype which stands out as the major contribution to the captivity genre. BIOGRAPHY: Mary White was born about 1637 in South Petherson (Somerset), England. She arrived to America with her nine siblings when she was only a child. Her father, John White and his family moved to the frontier settlement of Lancaster where her father was one of the founder. Around 1656 she married the Reverend Joseph Rowlandson, the first minister of the church of Lancaster. She had four children, one of whom died in infancy. After the release of Mary Rowlandson and her two surviving children (the youngest one died on the attack), they live in Boston for a year. In 1672 they moved to Wethersfield (Connecticut) where her husband returned to ministry. He died in 1678. A year later, she married another community leader, Captain Samuel Taltcott and live in the same town until her death. HER WORK In February 1676 a band of Indians (Wampanoag), surprised the Puritan frontier village of Lancaster, where Rowlandson lived with her children and husband. Rowlandson was captured and separated from two of her three children and her youngest one was mortally wounded. A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson was written in 1677 or 1678 two years after her release. The narrative is chronological, organized around twenty “removals”, a term she used to refer to the stages of her forced march. The purpose of the writing is didactic. She illustrates the Puritans typological way of thinking. She sees each stage of her captivity and ransom as a demonstration of the truths of biblical stories and teaching. Modern literary critics have pointed the influence of Rowlandson’ Narrative by the tradition of the American “jeremiad”, a form of sermonic or poetic lament which attributed misfortunes of the Israelites to their abandonment of the covenant with God and called on them to repent so as to restore the covenant and have a happier future. Her narrative illustrates the application in daily life of the Puritans beliefs: -The Puritan held that divine Providence operates in an absolutely arbitrary manner. The magnitude of God’s punishment for sin was unknowable. Minor transgressions might provoke God’s greatest wrath. -She considered Indians as mere instruments for punishment in order to prove the covenant with God. Her opinions of the Indians changed as the narrative progresses. First, she considered them “a company of hell-hounds” or “ravenous-beasts”. Then she started to use the neutral term of “Indians”. -Her eventual redemption and reunification with her surviving children and husband affirmed her faith in the Providence. She, as the Puritan, had the belief that they were the chosen people of God. -In terms of style, the story is told in a natural “artless”, plain manner, typical of the Puritan literature. -It’s written using first-person narrator. She has the Bible as a main source of inspiration, especially the Old Testament. About one third of the biblical references come from the Psalms, used as a spiritual resource because she found in King David’s way of

dealing with religious struggles a very useful mode to express her deep anger against the enemies and her confidence in divine retribution. She uses four narratives modes: description (of people, objects, geographical settings, etc.). Report (of actions) speech (either direct or reported) and comment (moralizing disquisition of digression), focusing more on the report and comment modes. -Celebrated for her role in the development of both the captivity narrative and American women’s autobiography. -Political and economic reasons for the Native attacks were disregarded (they were starving and their lands taken off), focusing rather, on Indian attacks as God’s punishing any break in their religious agreement, where the natives are just instruments used by God. -Both John Smith and Mary Rowlandson wrote captivity narratives based on their personal experience when they were captured, and later escaped/ freed/ ransomed from their Native Indian captors. The great success of this narrative genre was due to its depicting the anxieties and fears of the colonists. - Smith’s History emphasized his active role first, and then provided a romantic explanation for his freedom, Rowlandson’s account, A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, subtitled The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, stressed its religious dimension. That is, her captivity Started and ended according to God’s will. She interpreted it as a trial (ordeal) God had sent her to prove her faith. - Both agree with Bradford in providing dehumanized representations of the Indians in negative terms (wolves, ravenous beasts …). Contrary to Smith, Rowlandson expresses her anxiety, and does not represent herself as a heroine. Besides, Smith’s captivity narrative forms part of a larger narrative. Rowlandson’s is a full-length text. By demonizing the Indians, all of them were justifying and legitimating Indian genocide. The narratives projects stereotypes that supported the religious and political aims of the colonists and gave them the excuse to expand their western territory. They were not considered humans so they did not have the right to possess the land. -Until her capture she had led the ordinary life of a Puritan housewife. -Her own voice and style dominate the text. Didactic purpose: Divine providence is the all-pervading principle of the Narrative, of which God is the centre of everything that happens. - Allusions to scriptural passages. She assumed that her readers would be familiar with the Biblical passages so she didn’t cite them in full. -Her attitude and descriptions towards the Indians changes along the Narrative from considering them as “company of hell-hounds””/bloody heathen” to distinct individuals, some better than others, just ordinary humans. There was a gradual transformation in Rowlandson: trade with an old Indian, a squad gave food to her, “thy were pagans but thy were kind to her”, she got used to their food. EXCERPT: A Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. Account of the brutal assault on Lancaster Some comments about the painful conditions of the beginning of the author’s captivity in the wilderness. The pathetic report of little Sarah’s death from wounds one week later. Some glimpses of the gradual transformation Rowlandson underwent as she tried to adapt to life among the Narragansetts. Extract from the twentieth “remove”: the concluding remark of her work. MAIN IDEAS:

Rowlandson describes the behaviour of the raiding party as merciless. During the raid, the colonists are portrayed as extremely vulnerable. Rowlandson interprets the uncharacteristic behaviour of the garrison dogs in failing to defend the colonists as evidence of God’s will that the colonists trust only in Him.  The author changed her mind about preferring to be killed rather than captured because she was frightened of the attackers’ weapons.  When her child died, in spite of her grief, she did not try to kill herself.  In the “Third Remove” the phrase “my sweet babe like a lamb” is an example of figurative language.  By the assertion “not one of them offered the least imaginable miscarriage to me (“Nine Remove!) the author most probably means that she was never sexually abused.  During the “Ninth Remove! The author describes some of the Natives’ behaviour as kind.  Rowlandson’s actions show how she became more self-reliant.  From the author’s comments about Native food both in the “Fifth Remove” and the “Ninth Remove” we learn that she hated it at first, but gradually god used to it.  The concluding remark of Rowlandson’s narrative shows how, once freed, whenever she had difficulties, she faced them with calmness.  One of the most striking features of Rowlandson’s Narrative is its pathos.  Rowlandson’s Narrative is told in the first person.  In these passages we may find expectancy, sorrow and violence, but not flippancy.  As the Narrative progresses, the author’s view of the Natives shifts from considering them as a “company of hell-hounds” to distinct individuals, some better than others. At the beginning of her Narrative, Mary Rowlandson rendered predictable racist stereotypes of the Natives by calling them “murderous wretches”, “wolves”, “hell-hounds” and “ravenous beasts”. The simile she chose to depict the massacre of the colonists at the hands of the raiding party, “like a company of sheep torn by wolves”, illustrated the hunter-predator myth very precisely. In contrast with the colonists, whom she invariably called “Christians”, she referred to the Natives as “the bloody heathen (pagano)” and “those merciless heathen”, ignoring the economic and political reasons they might have had to undertake the assault. Furthermore, Rowlandson’s word choice to report the attackers’ violence actions contributed to the dehumanizing representation of the Natives (e.g. the phrase “the Indians gaping before us with their guns, spears, and hatchers to devour us”). The propaganda function of the immensely popular captivity narratives was evident, for they did much more than merely entertain readers. Such narratives projected stereotypes which supported the religious and political aims of the colonists. Imagining the indigenous inhabitants of the New World as beasts, rather than as human beings, reinforced the perception that they did not deserve to keep the lands they lived in. Furthermore, the publication of accounts that presented the Natives as heathens, infidels, devilworshippers, instruments or agents of Satan’s bidding, and even actual devils contributed to considering them a formidable threat to the theocracy that the New England Puritans sought to establish. The discourse of most captivity narratives not only softened guilt about the side effects of the invasion and subsequent colonial expansion, but staunchly endorsed the appropriation of land and the annihilation of its inhabitants as if they were   

religious duties undertaken to build the City of God on earth. Despite the much higher numbers of indigenous people captured by colonists, captivity narratives exclusively highlighted the relationship between Indian captors and captive colonists, overlooking that this phenomenon occurred in both directions. NINTH REMOVE: Shifting attitude towards the Narragansett: In the opening passage of her Narrative, Mary Rowlandson: a) Saw the raiding party as a chaotic group of bloodthirsty savages collectively characterized by lawless animalism. b) Focused exclusively on the destructive violence of the raiders. c) Highlighted the fact that she only heard how the attackers “scornfully shouted, and hallowed” and were “roaring, singing, ranting, and insulting”, but she did not report any example of direct or indirect speech on their part. d) Underscored the inability or unwillingness of the aggressors to trade or reach agreements with their victims (she specifically recorded that one of the attackers did not accept the money which he was offered by one of the settlers who wanted to save his life). e) Mentioned various kinds of weapons which the raiding party used to wound and kill the colonists. f) Emphasized the cruelty of the enemies toward children g) Designated the Narragansett with a number of derogatory names (“murderous wretches”, “wolves”, “hell-hounds”, “ravenous beasts”, “the bloody heathen”, and “merciless heathen”). On the contrary, in the “Ninth Remove” Mary Rowlandson: a) Saw the Narragansett as members of an organized society, and differentiated them as individuals with distinctive human traits. b) Made plain how she peacefully socialized with them in a number of ordinary situations without ever being “offered the least imaginable miscarriage”, and explicitly recognized their kindness. c) Revealed that she engaged in conversation with them, and reported their exchange of views. d) Underscored their ability and willingness to trade and reach agreements (she specifically recorded that, in order to please her master, she offered him the knife she got in return for the two shirts she herself had made and traded) e) Mentioned that she obtained a knife (which probably was to be used merely as a cutting instrument rather than as a weapon) f) Emphasized the help she received to pay a visit to her son. g) Refrained from using any derogatory terms to designate the Narragansett, and simply referred to them as Indians. The change in Rowlandson’s attitude toward the Narragansett, which is so obvious when comparing the introductory passage of her Narrative (where they are perceived as diabolical savages) with the section entitled “Ninth Remove” (where they are recognized as ordinary human beings), probably came about through her close interaction with these people. Curiously enough, she spent most of her captivity at the service of Quanopen, who had been one of the hated leaders of the attack on Lancaster, and who later became for Rowlandson, according to her own words, “the best friend that I had of an Indian.” DICTION: Words derived from Native languages: Papoose: Native American baby. A term derived from the Narragansett word papoos, which means “child”. Squaw: Native American woman or wife. A term derived from the Massachusetts word squa, which means “young woman.”

Although Mary Rowlandson did not mean to be insulting, this term has often been used in disrespectful way and should be avoided because nowadays it is generally considered very offensive. Wigwam: Hut or tent made by fastening skins, rush mats or sheets of bark over a dome-shaped framework of poles. A term derived from the Abenaki word wikewam, which means “house.” Mary Rowlandson probably used these Algonquian words because they were rather precise terms which had already entered the lexicon of the English colonists and helped her to describe indigenous culture. Such loanwords also gave a flavour of authenticity and accuracy to her account. We can infer that Rowlandson became well-acquainted with the daily life of the Narragansett, for she was not imprisoned or otherwise isolated, but dealt with various members of that community quite unrestrictedly. Mary Rowlandson’s Narrative reveals the transformation of a bold and determined woman who resolved to cope with trauma and survive by adaptation. She clearly understands that practical necessity will force her to undertake a cultural crossover, and decides to accommodate to what she once considered barbarian ways of life. She proves that she has learned to function in the alien milieu of the Narragansett when she exchanges her sewing skills for a knife. Likewise, her own explication of her gradual acceptance of typically Native food over the course of her captivity demonstrated that she has drawn important lessons from her experience of living with members of another society. Indeed, Rowlandson does much more than simply state that starvation compels her to end up eating what she rejected during the first week of her captivity. She goes further when she analyses her change in attitude toward unfamiliar good, moving from disgust with what she calls “filthy trash” to relishing a piece of bear, which she even finds “savoury”. Mary Rowlandson was surprised at her own capacity for endurance and continually thanked God for such gift. Apart from God’s help, she provides hints of her survival skills. We see that she underwent a change of attitudes toward food and she gradually tried to adjust to Native values and practices. Mary Rowlandson has been praised for her capacity to bring her emotions as a captive into perfect agreement with Puritan doctrine. Her narrative tries to demonstrate Puritan thinking at work. She use her experience to reaffirm her beliefs about good vs. evil. According to Puritan doctrine, the ordeal of captivity was considered a religious trial sent by God for purposes only known to Him. If the captors were devils or instruments of the devil, their wicked actions could be viewed as one of God’s mysterious ways of testing, purifying and strengthening Christians. Captivity was often translated into spiritual allegory, so that physical suggested either spiritual regeneration or renewal of the soul in conversion and future redemption in heaven. Throughout her Narrative, Mary Rowlandson always strove to consistently apply these Puritan beliefs. However, she became so traumatized that she even contemplated suicide. Although at the beginning of her Narrative, she clearly revealed her assurance that the binary opposition good vs. evil exactly corresponded to that of Christian vs. heathen, in the course of her account she gave signs that she also found virtue in the ethical conduct of non-Christians. Likewise, although she tried to see all occurrences as decreed by divine providence, there came a point when she contributed the tokens of the Narragansett’s hospitality to their own kindness and generosity, rather than to God’s mercy.

ROWLANDSON’S USE OF THE FOUR NARRATIVE MODES: DESCRIPTION (OF PEOPLE, OBJECTS, GEOGRAPHICAL SETTINGS, ETC.), REPORT (OF ACTIONS), SPEECH (DIRECT ...