Resources about Mary Rowlandson

1. Dietrich, Deborah J. "Mary Rowlandson's great declension." Women's Studies 24.5 (June 1995): 427. EBSCO. Mesa Community College Library, Mesa, AZ. Web. 3 June 2007.
Primarily written from a women’s studies perspective, this article tells us a bit about the nature of life of a woman in Puritan society. Rowlandson is shown to us as a strong woman who in a sense is able to step outside of the boundaries normally placed upon women in those times. The author examines Rowlandson’s famous accounting of the three months in Indian Captivity with an eye toward its insights into Rowlandson’s persona. Rowlandson is a woman physically enduring the pains of losing her lifestyle forever due to her captivity and the death of one of her children. This parallels the changing climate in the Puritan world of America. As the next generation of Americans was growing up, secularization away from Puritan ideals was occurring. Through the recounting of her captivity, we see a change in Rowlandson as well. She has become strong and independent, self-sufficient in her need to survive. The wife of a Puritan minister, her bold independence and even her writings would not have met with approval in her society. However, due to the nature of her capture and the feeling that telling her story would aid the cause of the Puritans, she was encourage to produce this work. The historical accuracy of the work is often disputed, and the details of Rowlandson’s life have been doubted and inconsistently recorded. However, the significance of her contribution to Puritan and early American literature is significant by any standard.This essay is a very useful source, as it provides a slight departure from straightforward literary theory and instead concentrates on the personal aspects of the writer. It does inject a good bit of theory in its purpose though, as we see elements of new historicism, structuralism, and more than a bit of feminist theory. This piece was published in a journal of women’s studies and originated from a university, from which I assume involved academic review before release.

2. VanDerBeets, Richard. "Mary Rowlandson." Dictionary of Literary Biography. Volume 24: American Colonial Writers 1606 - 1734. 1986: 266-267. Literature Resource Center. The Gale Group. Mesa Community College Library, Mesa, AZ. Web. 5 June 2008.
This article is basically a brief biography that focuses mainly on her captivity and how it was viewed.Mary Rowlandson is an important author to consider while reviewing Puritanism because her experiences as a captive of the Native Americans was very unique, and despite the suffering she endured, her account of the ordeal still portrays strong faith in God, which is key to Puritan writings. Mary has lived through the Puritan belief that the sols faces terrible danger while on earth.This source helped me to understand the other elements of this assignment by allowing me insight into the intriguing story of one of the period's most interesting authors. I believe this to be a credible source because it cites other credible sources, and was published in a credible book.

3. Bruccoli, Clark. “Mary Rowlandson”. Dictionary of Literary Biography. Volume 20: American Women Prose Writers to 1820. The Gale Group. Mesa Community College Library, Mesa, AZ. 4 June 2009.
The main purpose of this website was to give a thorough background of the author Mary Rowlandson and to also give a generous description of her book entitled Sovereignty and the Goodness of God.. Not only was this resource helpful in deciphering the meaning of Rowlandson’s book, but it was also a great tool to use when applying themes. This was a credible website because it not only listed additional links to further research about Mary Rowlandson, but it also provided links to other articles written by the same company about the Puritan era.

4. Jodziewicz, Thomas W. "An unexpected coda for the early American captivity narrative: A letter from a Romish Priest." Catholic Historical Review 81.4 (Oct. 1995): 568. History Reference Center. EBSCO. Mesa Community College Library, Mesa, AZ. Web. 4 June 2009.

5. Sweeney, Kevin. Taken by Indians 2008: 22-25. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. Mesa Community College, Mesa. Web. 25 June 2009.
The purpose of this article is to take a small glimpse into the life of Mary Rowlandson and the things she endured when held captive by a Native American tribe. It is important to read the works of Rowlandson because she divulges personal experiences that make it easier to understand the Puritanism period. This source was helpful because it opened the readers’ eyes to what made Rowlandson write the way she did and what gave her the passion she had. This site is credible because it was published in an academic journal.

6. Campbell, D. “Mary Rowlandson (c. 1636-1711). Washington State University. Web. 24 Sept. 2007.
This website offers information on Mary Rowlandson in numerous ways. First off it provides a brief biographical background on Rowlandson explaining her early life, her marriages, her captivity and her narrative. The site then provides links to her captivity narratives, how to teach Rowlandson’s narrative, pictures and commentary etc. This website offered a BRIEF biography on her life so it gave me slight insight as to who she was, but nothing too in depth. I do like however the links to the captivity narratives and other online works. The main purpose for this website is to give a very in depth, section by section overview of Mary Rowlandson’s book, Sovereignty and the Goodness of God. This text is important to read and understand for the Puritan era because it shows you the type of things that were taking place during this time as well as the struggles that people, especially women, had to face. This website was extremely helpful when I read the full text because it was so descriptive and it also gave history about when she was writing her book. It also explains a few important excerpts from her book as well. The thoroughness of this resource helped me adapt and interpret specific themes of her book very easily. This was a credible website because it specifically lists the source of where the information was obtained and it is clear that detailed research was done.

"Mary Rowlandson - Captive in 1675/76." University of Massachusetts. 5 June 2008. < http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/conn.river/mary.html >. This page summarizes Mary Rowlandson's capture based on the narrative she wrote. It provides related pictures and quotes. The reason that this text is critcal in understanding the literary period of Puritanism is that Mary Rowlandson's experience is unique. She experienced the dangers of living on earth that many Puritans discuss in their writings. While many of them faced hardships, Mary had an especially trying experience. This amplifies the idea that God is testing his children, and that life on earth is terrible. The text refers to God's plan for her and how the experience was a test. The nature of her pain and the fact that she still has great faith in God illustrates the strenght of the Puritan's beliefs.I believe the website to be credible because it is published by a university, it includes many quotes, and it can be verified by the actual text it discusses.

Mary Rowlandson. Wikipedia. Web. 25 June 2010. JPG.

Texts by Mary Rowlandson

• A Narrative of the captivity, sufferings, and removes, of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson

Mary Rowlandson. YouTube. 01 October 2009. Web. 25 June 2010.

Relevant Literary Period

Puritanism

Relevant Literary Themes

Relevant Literary Therms