Exploring the Text

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  1. The full title of the surviving American second edition of this text is The Sovereignty and Goodness of God. Together with the Faithfulness of His Promises Displayed: Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. In a note on the title page, Mary Rowlandson states that she wrote the account for her “private use” and that it was “made public at the earnest Desire of some Friends, and for the Benefit of the afflicted.” In what ways are the title and this statement of purpose appropriate for the colonial audience?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - The full title of the surviving American second edition of this text is The Sovereignty and Goodness of God. Together with the Faithfulness of His Promises Displayed: Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. In a note on the title page, Mary Rowlandson states that she wrote the account for her “private use” and that it was “made public at the earnest Desire of some Friends, and for the Benefit of the afflicted.” In what ways are the title and this statement of purpose appropriate for the colonial audience?
  2. Imagine yourself a seventeenth-century reader in London, someone with little or no first-hand experience of Native Americans. What “knowledge” would you gain about Indian culture and values? Pay close attention to the terms that Rowlandson uses to describe the Indians and their cultural practices.

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Imagine yourself a seventeenth-century reader in London, someone with little or no first-hand experience of Native Americans. What “knowledge” would you gain about Indian culture and values? Pay close attention to the terms that Rowlandson uses to describe the Indians and their cultural practices.
  3. In the opening sections, how does Rowlandson combine action-packed storytelling with reflective commentary to characterize her captivity as a battle between good and evil? How do both spiritual trial and physical torment contribute to this struggle?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - In the opening sections, how does Rowlandson combine action-packed storytelling with reflective commentary to characterize her captivity as a battle between good and evil? How do both spiritual trial and physical torment contribute to this struggle?
  4. One scholar of this period interprets the narrative as follows: “For Rowlandson, it was the situation of her captivity rather than native culture as such that inverted the proper order of things.” How do her descriptions of Quannopin and his wives, as well as her captors’ customs, support or challenge this interpretation?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - One scholar of this period interprets the narrative as follows: “For Rowlandson, it was the situation of her captivity rather than native culture as such that inverted the proper order of things.” How do her descriptions of Quannopin and his wives, as well as her captors’ customs, support or challenge this interpretation?
  5. Does Rowlandson in any way change her attitude toward her Indian captors from the start to the end of the narrative? If so, how? If you believe she does not, what instances of kindness or even mercy do you note that she does not acknowledge?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Does Rowlandson in any way change her attitude toward her Indian captors from the start to the end of the narrative? If so, how? If you believe she does not, what instances of kindness or even mercy do you note that she does not acknowledge?
  6. Rowlandson sees events of her captivity as representing a biblical drama in which she is a participant much like various characters in the Old and New Testaments. Choose two or three key events or series of events from the narrative. How do they reveal Rowlandson interpreting her experiences through the lens of her Puritan belief in God’s providence and sovereignty? How do her scriptural quotations contribute to the power of her narrative?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Rowlandson sees events of her captivity as representing a biblical drama in which she is a participant much like various characters in the Old and New Testaments. Choose two or three key events or series of events from the narrative. How do they reveal Rowlandson interpreting her experiences through the lens of her Puritan belief in God’s providence and sovereignty? How do her scriptural quotations contribute to the power of her narrative?
  7. Captivity narratives—an early form of travel literature and a forerunner of fiction—have three common plotline characteristics: a separation, a transformation, and a return. Generally the longest part, the transformation includes adventures, as captives journey into the wilderness, encounter various obstacles and trials, and become more familiar with their captors’ way of life. Explain these structural components in Rowlandson’s narrative.

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Captivity narratives—an early form of travel literature and a forerunner of fiction—have three common plotline characteristics: a separation, a transformation, and a return. Generally the longest part, the transformation includes adventures, as captives journey into the wilderness, encounter various obstacles and trials, and become more familiar with their captors’ way of life. Explain these structural components in Rowlandson’s narrative.
  8. When Rowlandson’s narrative was first published in 1682, it was framed by two documents: a preface that was anonymous but thought to have been written by the Puritan minister Increase Mather and her late husband’s last sermon. The preface included this analysis of Rowlandson’s intent:

    This narrative was penned by the Gentlewoman her self, to be to her a memorandum of Gods dealing with her, that she might never forget, but remember the same, and the several circumstances thereof, all the days of her life. A pious scope which deserves both commendation and imitation: Some friends having obtained a sight of it, could not but be so much affected with the many passages of working providence discovered therein as to judge it worthy of public view, and although unmeet that such works of God should be hid from the present and future Generations: And therefore though this Gentlewomans modesty would not thrust it into the Press, yet her gratitude unto God made her not hardly persuadable to let it pass, that God might have his due glory and others benefit by it as well as herself.

    In light of this explanation in the preface and the framing of Rowlandson’s narrative by two male sponsors, what evidence do you find in the narrative of her defense and reinforcement of the male patriarchy of Puritan society? To what extent do you find evidence that might challenge the traditional gender roles of the time?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - When Rowlandson’s narrative was first published in 1682, it was framed by two documents: a preface that was anonymous but thought to have been written by the Puritan minister Increase Mather and her late husband’s last sermon. The preface included this analysis of Rowlandson’s intent:This narrative was penned by the Gentlewoman her self, to be to her a memorandum of Gods dealing with her, that she might never forget, but remember the same, and the several circumstances thereof, all the days of her life. A pious scope which deserves both commendation and imitation: Some friends having obtained a sight of it, could not but be so much affected with the many passages of working providence discovered therein as to judge it worthy of public view, and although unmeet that such works of God should be hid from the present and future Generations: And therefore though this Gentlewomans modesty would not thrust it into the Press, yet her gratitude unto God made her not hardly persuadable to let it pass, that God might have his due glory and others benefit by it as well as herself.In light of this explanation in the preface and the framing of Rowlandson’s narrative by two male sponsors, what evidence do you find in the narrative of her defense and reinforcement of the male patriarchy of Puritan society? To what extent do you find evidence that might challenge the traditional gender roles of the time?
  9. The following woodcut illustrated Rowlandson’s captivity narrative when it was reprinted in Pioneers in the Settlement of America, by William A. Crafts, in 1876. What is the artist’s interpretation of this encounter in Mrs. Rowlandson and Her Indian Captors? Cite specific details of lighting, composition, and expression to support your response.
    image

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - The following woodcut illustrated Rowlandson’s captivity narrative when it was reprinted in Pioneers in the Settlement of America, by William A. Crafts, in 1876. What is the artist’s interpretation of this encounter in Mrs. Rowlandson and Her Indian Captors? Cite specific details of lighting, composition, and expression to support your response.