MARY ROWLANDSON--

In late 1675, a war was being fought between the American Indians and the Puritans. This war is known as King Philips' war and, at the time, was the most severe war in the history of New England. During one of the raids on Colonial settlements, a woman named Mary Rowlandson was captured by the Wampanoag tribe. Based on her experiences, Mary Rowlandson later published her chronicle A Narrative of the Captivity. Mary's writing is typical of Puritan literature; she uses her experiences to explore the spirituality of events in her life. In several parts of her narrative, Mary presents allusions to the Bible. One such allusion is made when one of Mary's children is very sick and her captors are treating her horribly. She writes, "This was the comfort I had from them, miserable comforters are ye all, as he said." She notes how her experience is closely related to Job's (16:2), whose faith in God is put to the test when he loses his children and money. Another allusion is made after one of Mary's children dies and she is unable to visit her other children. She quotes, "Me (as he said) have ye bereaved of my Children, Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin also, all these things are against me." She is referring to Jacob's sadness (Genesis 42:36) because he, like her, has lost some of his own children. Yet another allusion is made when Mary and her captors are fleeing from the English army. Noting the speed and fury with which they move, she compares them to Jehu, the ninth century B.C. Israelite king (2 Kings 9:20). Jehu is described in the Bible as a "furious driver." While reading Mary's narrative, it is important to understand that she did not merely want to record her experience in being a captive; she also wanted to show how it demonstrated God's purpose. To Puritans, being held captive was seen as punishment by God, and when one was finally relieved from his suffering, he believed he was being saved by God's grace. Because she knew she was eventually going to be saved, Mary Rowlandson's faith prevailed even in the hardest of times.

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