Compare And Contrast Anne Bradstreet And Mary Rowlandson

For many early settlers in America, a strong faith and steady belief in God’s ability to influence and intervene in their everyday lives was vital to survive and endure the hardships and burdens they often faced. This is the case in “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson”, Mary Rowlandson’s account of a Native American attack on her home which resulted in a lengthened, grueling captivity; throughout her captivity, Rowlandson finds immense comfort and peace in her faith in God and within a Bible she receives. Similarly, Anne Bradstreet depicts the tragic burning of her home in her poem “Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10th 1666”. In her poem, Bradstreet portrays the sadness she feels

For example, although she is consumed with worry and fear over the state of her children, Rowlandson finds immense relief when one of her captors gives her a Bible he took from a neighboring settlement. However, Rowlandson finds greater relief when she “opened [her] Bible to read, and the Lord brought that precious Scripture to [her]” (Rowlandson 264). Rowlandson believes that God is playing an active role in her life through guiding her to scripture in order to bring her relief and comfort during her extended captivity. Additionally, Rowlandson believes God is directly intervening in her daily life by looking out for her and protecting her during her captivity. To explain, while traveling with her captors, Rowlandson is told she must cross a river to escape a search party despite the cold weather; although some members of her company were submerged waist deep into the frigid water, Rowlandson “did not wet [her] foot…which cannot but be acknowledged as a favor of God to [her] weakened body” (Rowlandson 265). Rowlandson believes that God is directly protecting her by keeping her from touching the freezing water, which keeps her from becoming more ill. On the other hand, Bradstreet also feels that God is playing an active role in her life even during the burning of her house. For example, Bradstreet explains that “far be it that [she] should repine/ He might of all justly bereft/ But yet sufficient for us left” (Bradstreet 18-20). In other words, although she feels that God allowed her home and possessions to burn, Bradstreet feels grateful because she feels God left her with adequate things to survive, such as her health and her family. Both Rowlandson and Bradstreet use their belief that God maintains an active role in their lives to not only survive the current hardships they encounter, but to also have faith