A Narrative Of The Captivity and Restoration

As I read A Narrative Of The Captivity and Restoration, I felt as if I was watching a long movie. I kept expecting action and waiting for something heroic to happen, but it never did. It is a very long and telling account written in historical and spiritual context. It includes the physical and spiritual journey of Mary Rowlandson.

It is like one of those stories that must be told when somebody survives death. People write about the physical experience of such events, but their message is oftentimes focused on the spiritual aspect. After going through such a traumatic experience, the person wants to reveal the story because it serves as a witness to something and because the person experiences a spiritual transformation.
However, in Rowlandson’s narrative, I find more then her spiritual and physical experience. Her narrative keeps dehumanizing the Native Americans and speaks triumphantly of the Puritans. It also reveals the desperation of the Native Americans as they were faced with the overpowering presence of the British.

But in the most personal way, the story reveals the strength of a woman in captivity. She was fragile and went through a lot of physical and emotional pain and suffering, even though she does not reveal a lot of this. She reveals a pious woman who found strength in God.

Outside the historical and religious context of the story, the narrative can be most valued by the experience of a woman and a mother who went through such a traumatic experience and survived. Rowlandson’s narrative reminds me of a woman held in captivity by a terrorist group in Colombia. She is kept hidden in the jungle and has become an object of political interest. So, Mary Rowlandson’s story is not removed from present day reality.

I believe that Rowlandson’s story is idealistic because she is interested in the telling the story from a religious perspective. More than anything, the story has a salvific purpose.