Essay Sample on Mary Rowlandson

Mary Rowlandson explores the intersection between gender and confinement. This narrative follows Mary Rowlandson’s account of her capture, spanning February to March 1676, demonstrating how the definition of her womanhood within Lancaster meant nothing outside of the borders of her hometown. Rowlandson had the ability to negotiate what womanhood meant to her during that time, given that, despite her status as a captive, she was the freest she’d ever been before. Puritan womanhood was a form of confinement for Rowlandson, which her capture allowed her to become free of.  

As the wife of a man with the elevated position of minister, there were certain expectations of Rowlandson, who was a “relatively affluent, socially prominent, well-educated Puritan woman” (3). Her home, located in the center of Lancaster, only emphasized her social prominence and that she was the model to follow. There was an image for her to maintain, as both a wife and mother, considering she was faced with the task of bringing “respectability and material comfort” (3) to her marriage. With being a Puritan woman, came a slew of responsibilities to God and her family. 

All these responsibilities, however, became an afterthought upon her capture. She didn’t have her Puritan societal pressures dictating her life—she was free to make whatever choices she wanted to. Rowlandson quickly found a way to create a social standing for herself and use the Word of God to her convenience. Her narrative exemplifies how both of those survival techniques went beyond the societal expectation of a woman like her. 

Rowlandson’s freedom from the confines of womanhood started the moment her house was attacked. An expectation of women, which continues to this day, is that they manage and maintain their homes. With the loss of her house to the Natives’ guerrilla attack, there no longer was a physical establishment that was there for Rowlandson to keep. This domain was truly all that Rowlandson ever knew and she had no reason to leave—even in the face of war around her, Rowlandson faithfully stayed behind to care for her home as her husband was out of town.

Despite the physical removal from her home, Rowlandson’s tether to it is having her youngest, dying daughter there. This is her last opportunity to be a present mother, and she does it with the strength that God gives her. She exemplifies a Puritan mother during these moments, saying: “... my Spirit did not utterly sink under my affliction; still the Lord upheld me with his gracious and merciful Spirit, and we were both alive to see the light of the next morning” (16). The faith in God that is expected from her is what rationalizes the survival of her and her daughter. 

Bibliography

Rowlandson, Mary. “A True History of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson”. Women’s Indian Captivity Narratives, edited by Kathryn Zabelle Derounian-Stodola, 1998, pp. 1-51.