Mary White Rowlandson (1637?

-1711)
Born in England. Married the Rev. Joseph Rowlandson in 1656.
In February 1676, taken captive during King Philips War. 24 captives, including Mary
Rowlandson and her three children. Released for 20 in 1676.
.The Sovereignty and Goodness of god, Together With the Faithfulness of His Promises
Displayed: Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs Mary Rowlandson.
Published in Boston in 1682. Extremely popular. The originator of a uniquely American genre: a
prototype for other many similar works.
Themes, Conventions and Aims of the Indian captivity narrative:
.Response to violence in colonial America.
.Very popular genre in American literature up until the end of the nineteenth century. Highly
influential.
.Sentimentality; frequent scenes of suffering and cruelty. Sexual tension: fears of rape.
.Sensationalism. Moving, tear-jerking kind. Attempt to engage the reader.
.Religious nature. Indian captivity narratives are often stories of moral and religious growth.
Rowlandson sees her captivity as a challenge to her faith, as a test which reaffirms her religious
beliefs. Moreover, her work as evidence of Gods mercy, providence and disappointment at
mans sinfulness.
.Degrading, dehumanizing images of Indians. Moral dualism: savages versus Christians.
Native Americans associated with the Devil, cruelty and immorality. Cheating, godless beasts.
For Roy Harvey Pearce, the images of native people changed over time in response to the
different historical stages of colonization. Until the American Revolution, Indians described as
evil, and yet having a human soul which could be saved (Puritans and the conversion of Indian
savages). During the Early Republic, the removal period, Indians seen as savages delaying
westward expansion. Finally, the assimilation era, Indians as tragic race, unable to change, and
thus doomed to perish.
Nineteenth-century Indian intellectuals, writers, and orators who attacked stereotypes of Native
people in autobiographies and sermons: Elias Boudinot and his tribal newspaper, Cherokee
Phoenix.
Samson Occoms A Short Narrative of My Life (1768), a religious confession in which he
resisted the stereotype of savagery simply by appearing eminently civilized, educated,
religious, and concerned with the public good. (Lyons)
William Apesss essay An Indians Looking-Glass for the White Man.
Bibliography
Augustyn, Adam. American Literature from 1600 through 1850s. New York: Britannica
Educational Publishing, 2011.
Gray, Richard. A History of American Literature. Oxford: Blackwell, 2004
Lyons, Scott Richard, Indians Constructed and Speaking, in Paul Lauter ed. A Companion to
American Literature and Culture. Oxford: Blackwell, 2010.
Sayre, Gordon M., Slave Narrative and Captivity Narrative. American Genres, in Paul Lauter
ed. A Companion to American Literature and Culture. Oxford: Blackwell, 2010.