Mary Rowlandson Analysis

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

To explain, Rowlandson compares the troubles she faces during her captivity with the hardships Job endured by expressing that she “only am escaped alone to tell the News” (Rowlandson 259). Rowlandson compares her surviving the initial attack by the Native Americans to Job’s servants escaping various tragedies in order to share the news of what happened. Likewise, Bradstreet compares her housing burning to Job losing all his possessions by explaining that she, like Job, “blest His name that gave and took” (Bradstreet 14). Both Rowlandson and Bradstreet compare their situations to the story of Job as a model to understand the meaning behind why God would give them such burdens and to help them get through their situations. Additionally, Rowlandson explains that before her captivity and before she “knew what affliction meant, [she] was ready sometimes to wish for it” (Rowlandson 288). In other words, Rowlandson describes how she wished to endure hardships after reading in the Bible and witnessing some of the hardships faithful followers of God had to endure. Both Rowlandson and Bradstreet, similarly to other Christian colonists during this time, heavily rely on Scripture and Biblical stories in order to help them understand and explain their situations as well as a model for how they should behave