1 July 2009
The migration of Puritanism to the Americas brought about many changes. The Puritans were attempting to “purify” the world with their “improved” religious practices (Gaustad). This not only meant spreading the gospel to other settlers but Native Americans as well. The intense preassue to become Christian did not settle well with many tribes and their anger can be seen in Mary Rowlandson’s moving account A Narrative of the Captivity, Sufferings, and Removes, of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. This narrative exhibits experimentalism and brilliant word choice through Rowlandson’s experiences in captivity.

Rowlandson wrote a detailed narrative about her life focusing on her capture in Lancaster, Massachusetts Bay Colony, by a Native American tribe and her weeks in captivity, which began on February 10, 1675. She was the wife of a minister, mother of three, and greatly involved in Puritanism (Sweeney). She loved God and tried to praise him in all that she did. Throughout the text the reader can see her devotion to God.

It is blatantly obvious that this text belongs in the Puritanism period. She used bible references many times to express her point. She describes her thoughts in time of need and then follows them up with a biblical verse. “Then took I oak leaves and laid to my side, and with the blessing of God, it cured me also; yet before the cure was wrought, I may say as it is in Psalms 38. 5,6. ‘My wounds stink and are corrupt, I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly, I go mourning all day long’” (Rowlandson 18). In other texts, not within the Puritan Period, adding this biblical reference would be useless and unseen. Without the verse from the book of Psalms one can still understand that she was in pain and in need of help but for Rowlandson including this verse showed her faith and was praise toward God.

The text as a whole exhibits experimentalism because Rowlandson swayed from the normal boundaries of published Puritan text. In Puritanism females were not leaders. Men were responsible for spreading Christianity while women were to stay home and raise Christian families. Mary Rowlandson’s experiences opened a door for her to express the female identity and show the strength a woman is capable of. “Her wilderness journey allowed her to negotiate cultural restrictions on women’s freedom and identity” (Dietrich 2). Additionally, in the beginning of the text Rowlanson creates a savage, group image of the Indians, which is a common stereotype among the Puritans. As the text continues she begins describing the unique characteristics of individual Indians and referred to them by name.

“Onux, this old Squaw at whose wigwam I was, and with whom my master had been these three weeks: Another was Wettimore, with whom I had lived and served all this while. A severe and proud dame she was; bestowing every day in herself near as much time as any of the gentry of the land; powdering her hair, and painting her face, going with her necklaces, with jewels in her ears, and bracelets upon her hands (Rowlandson 83).
Although this description is not one of admiration it still gave an identity to an individual Indian. In doing this, among other things, she veered from the common view and characteristic of Puritan writings and acknowledgments.

Rowlandson’s word choice seemed well thought out. She conveys the sense of hopelessness, fear, and anger through her word usage and phrases. “A very wearisome and tedious day I had of it; what with my own wound, and my child being so exceeding sick, and in a lamentable condition with her wound, it may easily be judged what a poor feeble condition we were in, there being not the least crumb of refreshing that came…” (Rowlandson 16). Here the words “lamentable”, “feeble”, and “least crumb” stuck out and created an image of despair that would tug at a mother’s heart if they were to relate it to their own child. “Little do many think, what is the savageness and brutishness of this barbarous enemy,..” (Rowlandson 13). This quote uses strong language that certainly conveys her aggression towards the attacking tribe. Additionally, it creates an image of an intimidating group that even the reader would become fearful of. Throughout A Narrative of the Captivity, Sufferings, and Removes, of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson Rowlandson uses forceful adjectives and is successful in portraying the image of her captors and the situations she must endure.

Mary Rowlandson gave an account of every major event she experienced, along with the details one may find less significant, all in an attempt to praise her God. She included her Christian views and biblical verses as much as possible. Her experimentalism may have not been purposeful or obvious to her but this text created a break through for the female image of her time. Her word choice was exceptional. From the beginning she was able to captivate the reader through the vocabulary she chose. This author and text exemplified the ideologies of Puritan writing, showed unintentional experimentalism, and used captivating word choice.



A narrative of the captivity, sufferings, and removes, of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson
Dietrich, Deborah J. "Mary Rowlanndson's Great Declension." Women's Studies 24 (1995): 427-41. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. Mesa Community College, Mesa. 25 June 2009 <https://ezp.mc.maricopa.edu/login?url=https://search-ebscohost- com.ezp.mc.maricopa.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9510084142&site=ehos t-live>.

Gaustad, Edwin S. "Quest for Pure Christianity." Christian History 1994: 7-8. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. Mesa Community College, Mesa. 25 June 2009 <https://ezp.mc.maricopa.edu/login?url=https://search-ebscohost- com.ezp.mc.maricopa.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9403147549&site=ehos t-live>.

Rowlandson, Mary. A narrative of the captivity, sufferings, and removes, of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. Cambridge: H.O. Houghton & Company. Google Books. 3 July 2007. Google. 26 June 2009 <http://books.google.com/books?id=OUEEAAAAYAAJ&printsec=titlepage&source=gb s_navlinks_s>.

Sweeney, Kevin. Taken by Indians 2008: 22-25. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. Mesa Community College, Mesa. 25 June 2009 <https://ezp.mc.maricopa.edu/login?url=https://search-ebscohost- com.ezp.mc.maricopa.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=34379628&site=ehost- live>.