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Alexander Ow Jia Teck

Asst. Professor Christopher Peter Trigg

HL2022 Early American Literature

10 November 2023

Finding Spiritual Solace in Captivity: Comparing Mary Rowlandson and John Marrant

In Mary Rowlandon’s Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary

Rowlandson, a captive Mrs. Rowlandson endures weeks of enslavement under the Indian natives.

In clinging on to her firm Christian beliefs, Rowlandson manages to use religion as a means of

preservation, employing it to contextualise and justify the foreignness of the Indian culture

surrounding her. Although similarly centred around Christian religiosity as a sustaining force in

times of captivity, John Marrant’s A Narrative of the Life of John Marrant depicts the outward

evangelical force of Christianity which protects Marrant from his Indian captors by

homogenising them through religious conversion. Despite sharing similar religious thematic

correspondence, the presentation of Christianity in both texts are starkly different. Rowlandson’s

account appears as though Christianity serves as a bulwark of inward self-preservation against

Indian culture whereas Marrant’s application of Christianity presents itself as an outward all-

encompassing power that sweeps over the Indian populace, converting them to Christianity.

Hence, while the influence of Christianity is proven to be an effective remedy in making sense

and dealing with pain and hardship, it is also a malleable tool that can be used to preserve oneself

albeit in differing ways.

Rowlandson is shown to seek comfort in the scripture of God, returning to the bible

regularly to make sense of her torturous reality. This is evident in how she draws upon the

scripture of Jeremiah which stated “Thus saith the Lord, refrain thy voice from weeping, and
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thine eyes from tears, for thy work shall be rewarded, and they shall come again from the land of

the enemy” (Rowlandson 4), which she likened to a “sweet cordial to [her] when [she] was ready

to faint” (Rowlandson 4). The scripture here seems to resonate and echo a reflection of her

troubled state of mind as seen in how she struggled to “express to man the affliction that lay

upon [her] spirit” (Rowlandson 4), highlighting an indescribable misery beyond measure within

Rowlandson. Through the scripture, there appears to be an inherent promise of deliverance

through the repetition of “shall” (Rowlandson 4) which evokes a sense of imminence and

inevitability that inspires Rowlandson to press on in spite of her ailments. The empowering

effect of the scripture is made clear through the revitalising metaphor of a “sweet cordial”

(Rowlandson 4) which refreshes both body and spirit, meaning that the word of the scripture

itself is tantamount to that of a force of sustenance. Rowlandson is presented to be able to

transcend her physical and mental limitations through the inspiration of God and the scriptures

which provide spiritual strength, circumventing her lack of physical strength and mental

fortitude.

Marrant’s religious convictions on the other hand are founded on his desire to seek

deliverance from the Indians through a reunion with God in the afterlife. The typological

significance of “condemned to die” (Marrant 1) on the cover page suggests a sense of

inevitability of death that cannot be escaped. As seen in how he was ready to die for his beliefs,

Marrant’s faith culminates in a sense of willing acceptance that pain and suffering is a necessary

pre-ordained fate in order to be with God in the afterlife. By placing everything including his life

on the line, Marrant presents a complete trust in God, indicating the pivotal position God holds in

Marrant’s life in shaping and influencing his actions. God, exercising his holy will, then uses

Marrant as a vehicle to inspire evangelical conversion, which is made possible only through the
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unwavering confidence Marrant has in God. This is evident in Marrant’s biblical allusion to the

Old Testament scriptures of the “three children in the fiery furnace, and of “Daniel in the lion’s

den” (Marrant 15) in which Marrant invokes God’s protection and deliverance from harm.

Reminiscent of the ultimate noble sacrifice of martyrdom in the name of God that the “three

children” (Marrant 15) and “Daniel” (Marrant 15) were ready to see through, Marrant replicates

their ardent faith and invokes God’s will, placing his fate entirely in God’s hand. By referencing

these biblical figures, Marrant also draws upon the timeless history that God will provide in

times of need to the faithful, revealing once again Marrant’s utmost trust in God. As expected,

the unfaltering belief in the providence of God then delivers Marrant from his captors in the most

astonishing way – through the conversion of the very Indians who were persecuting him.

While Christianity manages to preserve Rowlandson throughout her captivity, her

application of the scriptures in making sense of the Indian community alienates them, distinctly

delineating them as an ‘other’ apart from her white, Puritan self. Due to this, Rowlandson

establishes a belief that the Indians are creatures that inflict pain and suffering, meaning that her

Christian faith, in helping her contextualise her situation, enforces an unwitting dichotomy that

dehumanises them. Rowlandson is unable to see past the label of foreign aggressor as seen in

how she sought deliverance from the “land of the enemy (Rowlandson 4). The geographical

connotation of “land” (Rowlandson 4) connotes a displacement from familiar territory into a

foreign place while “enemy” (Rowlandson 4) implies someone that is placed directly in

opposition or fundamentally at odds with one’s beliefs, revealing Rowlandson’s disorientation

among the Indian people. In Rowlandson’s case, her disdain towards the Indians is highlighted in

her perception of them as “savage” (Rowlandson 1), “brutish” (Rowlandson 1) and “barbarous”

(Rowlandson 1). By attaching these demeaning qualities to the Indians, Rowlandson relegates
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them to a kind of sub-human tier beneath her. There appears to be implications that the Indian

community lacks civility as they are described to indulge in their primal, base instincts instead of

properly suppressing them like someone who is cultured and civilised. In fact, Rowlandson “(as

[she] may say)” (Rowlandson 1) classifies them as “ravenous beasts” (Rowlandson 1). The

parenthesis around “as I may say” (Rowlandson 1) and the use of “I” (Rowlandson 1) seems to

imply an assertion of authoritative discourse from a position of established civility imposing

judgment on those she deems beneath her. The audacious tone in her assertion makes it seem as

though her views are not open for contention, revealing her dismissive attitude towards the

Indians. Rowlandson estranges the Indian community further by likening them to be “ravenous

beasts” (Rowlandson 1) rather than human, attributing an animalistic quality and behaviour to

them while simultaneously reducing their humanistic capacity. As a result, the growing fissure of

acceptance between Rowlandson and the Indians becomes increasingly wide, creating a kind of

disconnect that distinctly separates and condemns the Indian community to the periphery of

humankind with no potential for reconciliation and proper recognition. The irreconcilable

differences are best captured in how Rowlandson perceives that there was a “vast difference

between the lovely faces of Christians, and [the] foul look of those heathens” (Rowlandson 16).

Her focus on physical descriptions introduces a fatalistic binary that being a Christian is naturally

“lovely” (Rowlandson 16) while being Indian is “foul” (Rowlandson 16) and “heathen”

(Rowlandson 16), indicating that inherent differences ultimately alienate the Indian community

simply because their fundamental existence is at odds with the white, Christian majority.

On the other hand, with his belief in God’s mercy as his saving grace from the pain of

captivity, Marrant submits to the evangelical will of God, serving as an instrument of conversion.

Consequently, Marrant is shown to enter into the realm of cultural acceptance and even
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integration among the Indian population which was largely missing or superficial within

Rowlandson’s narrative. This can be supported by how Marrant does not shun the Indian hunter

and instead engages him in “constant conversation” (Marrant 13) which resulted in a “fuller

knowledge of the Indian tongue” (Marrant 13). Through his continual engagement with the

hunter, Marrant shows himself to have a genuine interest in both the hunter and learning more

about the Indian culture. Given his marked improvement in his command of the “Indian tongue”

(Marrant 13), it can be implied that Marrant actively worked on strengthening his linguistic

command, meaning that he possesses a certain authenticity in his attempt at internalising Indian

culture. Similarly, Marrant’s assimilation into Indian society is asserted definitively through his

“dress [which] was purely in an Indian style; the skins of wild beasts composed [his] garments,

[his] head set out in the savage manner, with a long pendant down [his] back, a sash round [his]

middle, without breeches, and a tomahawk by [his] side” (Marrant 20). Apart from signifying his

affiliation to the Indians, his dress is also indicative of their acceptance of Marrant as one of their

own. As there is a consensus that he has been deemed worthy to don their cultural wear, Marrant

becomes more than just a token representative of the Indians. Interestingly, Marrant does also

describe the outfit to be “wild” (Marrant 20) and “set out in a savage manner” (Marrant 20), as

though it were uncouth and foreign to him. Despite this, Marrant’s acceptance of the seemingly

uncivilised behaviours and practices of the Indians could then suggest that Christianity at the

forefront allows one to see past cultural and racial differences, exacerbating the all-

encompassing evangelical impact of God’s love which comes first. Thus, Marrant’s increasing

social receptivity towards the Indians compelled by his God-induced evangelical effort allowed

him to overcome the pain of captivity and thrive among his captors.
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In trying to make sense of the differing portrayals of Christianity between Rowlandson

and Marrant, the examination of paratextual material or historical context reveal the forces which

influenced and shaped each narrative. For Rowlandson, her Puritan-centric narrative of

deliverance from the Indian ‘other’ is supported and justified by the typological significance of

her narrative being for the “benefit of the afflicted” (Rowlandson 1), meaning that Rowlandson’s

writing intends to inspire and strengthen the Puritan faith. With reference to “The Significance of

the Captivity Narrative” by Roy Harvey Pearce, Rowlandson’s writing is complicit in

maintaining the genre conventions in which “details of the captivity [narratives] itself are found

to figure forth a larger, essentially religious experience; the captivity has symbolic value”

(Pearce 2). This seemingly implies that the thematic focus of religion derives meaning through a

fixation on and analysis of the act of captivity itself. The Puritan agenda is further highlighted

and “made minute, direct, and concrete in order to squeeze the last bit of meaning out of the

experience” (Pearce 2), suggesting that in order to make a convincing, succinct case for

Puritanism, a “direct” (Pearce 2) opposition has to be made to punctuate the point. To strengthen

the exclusive Puritan identity, the ‘othering’ of the Indian people is necessary to present a stark

contrast from Puritans, elucidating a “concrete” (Pearce 2) sense of distinctness. Thus, through

her pain and suffering, the Indians become a foil for the promotion of Puritan religiosity by being

a source of trepidation to rally against, resulting in a strengthening of Puritanism as intended by

Rowlandson.

On the contrary, Marrant’s narrative succeeds Rowlandson’s in terms of chronology,

meaning that the essential plot elements of the captivity genre are replicated. However, Marrant

applies his own twist on the early American classic, imparting a subtle racial critique advocating

acceptance rather than alienation. Rafia Zafar, in her journal article “Capturing the Captivity:
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African Americans Among the Puritans” stated that “Black Americans, whether enslaved by

whites or Indians, were unlikely to espouse one aim of the Puritan captivity narrative – the

advocacy of a "white" social and political hegemony” (Zafar 20). Through this lens, while

retaining the popular captive genre, Marrant’s narrative rejects the “espousal and perpetuation of

a white, Protestant ruling class” (Zafar 21) while simultaneously claiming the position of the

white protagonist and subverting its traditional portrayal. Although paradoxical in the sense of

“sharing "non-white” status with [his] captor” (Zafar 19), Marrant distorts white narratives which

alienate the Indians and instead embraces and welcomes them as brothers and sisters in Christ,

proving that even pain and suffering is not enough to disrupt God’s evangelical goodness. By

overcoming his pain of captivity, Marrant breaks down racial divisions and refuses to recognise

constructed racial boundaries which divide “all [his] kind Christian friends” (Marrant 24),

driving home the point that homogeneity as fellow Christians trumps that of white puritan

“hegemony” (Zafar 20).

In conclusion, Christianity undoubtedly has an astounding impact on providing

deliverance through pain and suffering, allowing both Rowlandson and Marrant to overcome

their captivity. Rowlandson's narrative reinforces Puritan identity by 'othering' Indians, while

Marrant's subverts this tradition, advocating acceptance over alienation in the face of captivity.

Thus, in dealing with pain and suffering, Rowlandson's faith accentuates the Puritan exclusivity,

while Marrant's transcends the divide and levels the distinctions between him and the Indians.

Word Count: 2038

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Works Cited

Marrant, John, and W. (William) Aldridge. A Narrative of the Life of John Marrant. Leeds:

Printed by Davies and co., 1815.

Pearce, Roy Harvey. “The Significances of the Captivity Narrative.” American Literature, vol.

19, no. 1, 1947, pp. 1–20. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2920438. Accessed 31 Oct.

2023.

Rowlandson, Mary White. Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.

1682. Project Gutenberg, https://gutenberg.org/cache/epub/851/pg851-images.html.

Accessed 31 Oct. 2023.

Zafar, Rafia. “Capturing the Captivity: African Americans among the Puritans.” MELUS, vol.

17, no. 2, 1991, pp. 19–35. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/466997. Accessed 31 Oct.

2023.