koehler, mary rowlandson blog

Mary Rowlandson portrays her Indian captors most often as savages with devilish mannerisms. While captive she had very little sympathy for them, because she was shown very little. Aside from the Bible she received, and food they occasionally offered her, she receive no luxuries In her final remove she states, “I was with the enemy eleven weeks and five days, and not one week passed without the fury of the enemy, and some desolation by fire and sword upon one place or other.” (Twentith Remove)This seems quote seems to be a decent summary for her opinion of the Indians, since her opinion toward the Indians initially was bitter and hardly seemed to change throughout the experience.

“I complained it was too heavy, whereupon she gave me a slap in the face, and bade me go; I lifted up my heart to God, hoping the redemption was not far off” (Twelfth Remove). Rowlandson was hoping for redemption throughout the entire experience. She never once doubted God was going to offer retribution. In addition every time something happening in her favor she thanked God, because God was responsible for it coming about for it (“I cannot but take notice of the wonderful mercy of God to me in those afflictions, in sending me a Bible” Third Remove). This directly coincides with the puritanical ideals presented in the previous readings, that everything is part of God’s predestined plan and is therefore is ultimately for the greater good. Therefore, is seems completely reasonable for Mary to expect redemption.

Mary Found comfort is God. She saw herself as being under God’s protection. Everything that happened was for her personal salvation. Most of the Removes, though all having different events, had a similarity to them, in that they all stayed true to puritan ideals. No matter what suffering she was put through she would always thank God for whatever comfort she found and had faith that everything she was put through was just another trial, “That we must rely on God Himself, and our whole dependance must be upon Him.’ (Twentith Remove). Although her faith was strong before this event, it seems like this only increased her trust in God.

Emig Rowlandson Blog

            

In The Narrative of the Captivity and the Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, Rowlandson overcomes an extremely difficult and personal journey of self-discovery, strength, and unshaken faith in God. Several times throughout the narrative, Rowlandson reveals her attitude towards her Indian captors. In the first three removes, she refers to her captors by several different derogatory names: “barbarous creatures,” “black creatures,” and “pagans (merciless enemies).” Early on in her captivity, Rowlandson begins forming opinions that will come to dominate how she sees the savage people, who have robbed her of everything. In the third remove, Rowlandson cries out in disgust of the savages’ treatment of dead Englishmen, “Oh, the hideous insulting and triumphing that there was over some Englishmen's scalps that they had taken (as their manner is) and brought with them.” Our class notes discuss the sharp contrast between the captive Christian and the pagan Indian—this quotation brings this contrast to life. As Christians, Rowlandson has been taught to love and care for life, and is both outraged and appalled by this disrespect and mistreatment of her fellow Christians’ bodies.

            In the eighth remove, Rowlandson finally is reunited with her son, who also resides in captivity. She asks her son if he has been keeping up with his Scriptures. The following is a passage from the captivity narrative that reveals both the toils of Christian suffering and the promise of salvation, not just for Rowlandson, but also for all Christians. Rowlandson’s son starts, “Look here, mother," says he, "did you read this?" And here I may take occasion to mention one principal ground of my setting forth these lines: even as the psalmist says, to declare the works of the Lord, and His wonderful power in carrying us along, preserving us in the wilderness, while under the enemy's hand, and returning of us in safety again. And His goodness in bringing to my hand so many comfortable and suitable scriptures in my distress.” This passage, though in the midst of suffering, trials and tribulations, is one that rejoices in the promise of salvation. Salvation through the Scriptures was the principle understanding for Puritans travelling to the New World. The Scriptures allows one to renew their faith and to remind oneself of their mission in this world. Though Rowlandson found herself in an unbearable situation, her faith remains her guide. This captivity narrative is a testament of faith, a journey of survival, and a deliverance from evil.

            Towards the end of the narrative (around the twentieth remove), the tables turn, and the Indians find themselves with their backs and livelihoods against the wall. I find it interesting that Rowlandson could show any sympathy towards these people, but she states, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy, especially that I should come away in the midst of so many hundreds of enemies quietly and peaceably, and not a dog moving his tongue. So I took my leave of them, and in coming along my heart melted into tears, more than all the while I was with them, and I was almost swallowed up with the thoughts that ever I should go home again.” This passage shows remorse for the people who treated her so poorly and exemplifies the completion of her journey towards salvation and a renewed relationship with God. Rowlandson has been saved from evil, ironically, by evil-- she has overcome the depths God has placed in front of her. She has been saved in every possible way.

Ray Rowlandson Post

         
            Mary Rowlandson's attitude towards her captors is-as one would imagine-that they are savage heathens that are manipulated/placed in her life by God to test her faith and allow her to grow as a person and learn more about herself. She believed that there was a good reason for every violent or cruel act that took place during her captivity, as is evident in the Third Remove:

"I then remembered how careless I had been of God's holy time; how many Sabbaths I had lost and misspent, and how evilly I had walked in God's sight; which lay so close unto my spirit, that it was easy for me to see how righteous it was with God to cut off the thread of my life and cast me out of His presence forever. Yet the Lord still showed mercy to me, and upheld me; and as He wounded me with one hand, so he healed me with the other."

While whatever acts of aggression, selfishness, or cruelty the Amerindians committed against Rowlandson may have had a brief immediate effect of bruising her spirit/faith, she-conversely-seems to strengthen spiritually throughout the period of captivity. Even following the death of her six-year-old child, her faith is also evident in the Third Remove:

"I have thought since of the wonderful goodness of God to me in preserving me in the use of my reason and senses in that distressed time, that I did not use wicked and violent means to end my own miserable life. "

            Rowlandson encountered a [very] pregnant captive that told Mary of her plan to run away. The level of Rowlandson's faith in God is illustrated by her reaction to the mother-to-be's plan to escape, as well as the outcome of the pregnant captive's behaviour. When told of this dangerous escape plan by the fellow captive, rather than bluntly warn the mother of the flaws in her plan (such as the fact that she probably would not make it on foot to the nearest English camp) Rowlandson read her Psalm 27:

 "Wait on the Lord, Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine Heart, wait I say on the Lord."  (End of Third Remove)

While this Psalm may have done the trick to settle Rowlandson's nerves, it seemingly gave the mother-to-be less comfort, as is illustrated by her repeated requests to her captors to return home. Her repeated requests cause the Amerindians to gather  "a great company together about her and stripped her naked, and set her in the midst of them, and when they had sung and danced about her (in their hellish manner) as long as they pleased they knocked her on head, and the child in her arms with her. When they had done that they made a fire and put them both into it, and told the other children that were with them that if they attempted to go home, they would serve them in like manner." Had the Psalm verse been enough for this woman, perhaps she and her child would have survived. After witnessing violent mutilations and murders and the displacement of her family, Rowlandson returns to her Bible to provide her with comforting verses. Her Christian position is her backbone throughout the journey.

          Initially, she tried her best to avoid the food and general lifestyle of her "heathen" captors, but eventually hunger became a significant concern, and she began to adapt to their way of life without losing her faith in God. Rather than noticing Rowlandson feeling sympathetic toward her captors, I would call it more of a growing understanding of their way of life. She began playing by their rules of behaviour, eating their food, and generally acclimating herself to the savage environment. The blurring of the lines between Christians and the Amerindians appears in the Sixteenth Remove:

" My heart skipped within me, thinking they had been Englishmen at the first sight of them, for they were dressed in English apparel, with hats, white neckcloths, and sashes about their waists; and ribbons upon their shoulders; but when they came near, there was a vast difference between the lovely faces of Christians, and foul looks of those heathens, which much damped my spirit again."

The distinguishing factors of a people (i.e. dress) become more apparent to Rowlandson throughout her captivity, but so is her relentless faith in God. Because of this faith, I do believe Rowlandson believed herself to be saved. The key message of Rowlandson's journey can be summed up by the well-known phrase "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

O'Brien Rowlandson Blog

Rowlandson cultivates a very understandable us versus them mentality against those who hold her prisoner. What shines through in all of this is Rowlandson’s resolve in the face of her dire situation. Throughout the experience, she maintains her faith in God or the belief that he will deliver her from her captivity back into the comfort and familiarity of her old life.

As Rowlandson writes in The Thirteenth Remove: “But the Lord upheld my Spirit, under this discouragement; and I considered their horrible addictedness to lying, and that there is not one of them that makes the least conscience of speaking of truth.” In Rowlandson’s mind, this whole ordeal is a holy quest that she must endure. The Amerindian people are foreign to her in everyway, and in the context of survival, to be foreign is a signifier of opposition. They lie, they kill, and they force good English folk into servitude. Rowlandson considers herself the hero in this situation, surviving by the grace of God in the face of insurmountable adversity. While anything that occurs ultimately relates back to the power of God, Rowlandson is not beyond seeing the faults in herself. Thinking back on the events during and since her capture, Rowlandson records: “Now had I time to examine all my ways: my conscience did not accuse me of unrighteousness toward one or other; yet I saw how in my walk with God, I had been a careless creature.” Any blame for what is happening to her is the fault of Rowlandson, at least in her own view. God has a grand plan she is not privy too and any punishment that befalls Rowlandson is part of that unfolding plan.

As for whether Rowlandson sees herself as saved, a reader can turn to the final, Twentieth Remove: “Affliction I wanted, and affliction I had, full measure (I thought), pressed down and running over.” Rowlandson looks back and acknowledges that God put her through an ordeal. Instead of resentment or self-pity, she sees her journey as one of self-improvement. Thinking back on how her captivity has changed her, Rowlandson writes: “I have learned to look beyond present and smaller troubles, and to be quieted under them.” Rowlandson’s ordeal has opened her mind to a wider world, one of both cruelty and kindness. In the end, she has become a stronger person for what she endured.

Langer Rowlandson Blog

Rowlandson's narrative is an interesting read full of ups and downs that exemplify the trauma that Rowlandson was forced through during her captivity. She goes from extreme lows to moments of redemption back to extreme lows throughout the eleven weeks of captivity. Amazingly, she never truly loses hope when she has God's word by her side with the Bible. From the beginning, Rowlandson's attitude toward her Amerindian captors is revealed. As she is trying to care for her babe while upon a horse's back, they both "fell over the horse's head." To show her disgust with her captors, she refers to them as "inhumane creatures" who "laughed, and rejoiced to see it." Her captors have no sense of remorse for her or her dying babe and give no comfort to them in their injuries. She is in a living hell with these "inhumane creatures", but sees "the wonderful power of God" when her Spirit id not sink. The Lord held her up in this time of peril. She is suffering, yet still feels blessed by the love of God for being able to see the light of the next morning. From the outset of her captivity she sees this as an opportunity for God to protect and save her spirits every day.

 In the thirteenth remove Rowlandson addresses the lying tendencies of her captors. She asks an Indian about the status of her son, who responds that "himself did eat a piece of him, as big as his two fingers, and that he was very good meat." This indian is used as an example of the whole group, a bunch of lying cannibals that have no respect or care for their captives. Rowlandson acknowledges that they have "a horrible addictedness to lying, and that there is not one of them that makes the least conscience of speaking of truth."She is surrounded by "a company of barbarous heathens," but holds onto hope of salvation. The end of the thirteenth remove creates a very bleak outlook for Rowlandson, where she reflects on what a "careless creature" she has been. Even when their is a death within the tribe, Rowlandson confesses she "could not much condole with them." She rarely feels sympathy for the tribe whether it is on an individual level or the tribe as a whole. Instead, Rowlandson reflects on the times of the past where she could pray and sing with her family on the nights before and after the Sabbath. But now, instead, she "had only a little swill for the body and then, like a swine, must lie down on the ground." She is full of sorrow about her lack of worship to the Lord. Yet, she still takes comfort in the Scripture of the Lord at every turn. Every time she is down in spirits, Rowlandson focuses upon the word of the Lord to lift her spirits and help her to continue on.

Rowlandson does not necessarily show remorse, but some sort of admiration for how God cared for the heathens throughout their travels. She points out, "strangely did the Lord provide for them; that I did not see one man, woman, or child die with hunger." She stands in awe and admiration of how God provided for such a vast amount of enemies. Although her enemies, they are still human beings under God, and Rowlandson thanks him for taking care of them with the vast array of resources at his disposal. Through this perverse way of preserving her enemies, she was protected from any harm and was eventually saved. In this light, Rowlandson sees herself as saved by the Lord. She realizes that she deserves chastisement for the times she neglected the Sabbath and did not pay proper dues to the Lord, but is glad to have endured these hard times. She rejoices that "God hath granted me my desire. O the wonderful power of God that I have seen, and the experience that I have had." Rowlandson has endured hardships, but thanks God multiple times that she did not suffer any "unchastity, in word or action" from the savages. She has come through saved and a stronger Christian for her hardships. Now, "if trouble from smaller matters begin to arise in me, I have something at to check myself with, and say, why am I troubled?" Through this journey, Rowlandson has a new philosophy on life that will bring her through all hardships. She has learned to look past the present, smaller troubles, and to look towards the big picture of the Lord's salvation.

Dougherty-Rowlandson Blog

The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, also known as A Narrative of the Captivity and Removes of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson is an autobiographical story written by Mary Rowlandson concerning her experiences following her capture by Native Americans at Lancaster, Massachusetts on February 10, 1675. The Native Americans and British settlements in New England had lived in peace as neighbors for some 50 years. However, when the British settlements started a westward expansion into Indian territory, the Native Americans conducted raids on the settlements in what became known as Philip’s War, named for the leader of the Wampanoag tribe. Lancaster was a Puritan settlement located adjacent to Native American territory where Mary Rowlandson, her husband and three children made their home. Both Mary Rowlandson and her youngest child were wounded and together with her remaining children were taken captive and carried off. This story tells of the hardships suffered by the Rowlandson family at the hands of the Native Americans and Mary Rowlandson’s change in status from a well to do and leading member of her community (Joseph Rowland, her husband, was well known minister) to a captive and servant of the Native Americans with an uncertain future. This narrative was written after her release from captivity and is credited with starting a new style of writing called “captivity narrative. “
The initial horror and fear experienced by Mary Rowlandson is detailed as is her sorrow and grief when her six year old daughter dies in her arms and she is separated from her other two children. At the outset of her narrative, she characterized the Native Americans as savages, and murderous wretches and compared them to wolves with the Puritans being the sheep (“like a company of sheep torn by wolves”). This reference to the biblical theme of good versus evil and the innocence of the Puritans versus the savagery of the Native Americans is reflected throughout the story. A Bible given to her by one of the Native Americans provided her not only with comfort ( her “life saver”) but it also provided her with readily recognizable references to scripture . In other words, she found a reason for her sufferings in the Puritan beliefs which espoused the all powerful nature of God, his responsibility for all things, both good and bad and his capacity for punishment and forgiveness. In fact, she believed that God was responsible for the Native American attacks on the colonists because he wanted to teach them a lesson for wavering in their faith and choosing a more material life. Thus, her narrative served as an example from which the Puritans could learn and redeem themselves. She also stated that she deserved her plight because it was God’s way of punishing her, but through his mercy, she was redeemed. The Puritan view of Christian thought and practice were critically important to Mary Rowlandson and she espouses Puritan doctrine throughout her narrative.
The longer she was a captive in this wilderness, however, the more she became concerned with degenerating into savagery herself (becoming uncivilized and without God) by association with the Native Americans. She was particularly upset with her willingness to eat horse liver and bear meat which previously nauseated her (“ I thought I never tasted pleasanter meat in my life”). She was adopting the ways of the savage, or so she thought.
The line between savagery and civilized behavior became further blurred by the many kindnesses afforded her by the Native Americans, such as providing her with food, lodging, and respect by allowing her to sew for compensation. To many of the Native Americans, she was not a slave, but a person. She greatly admired Quinnapin, her master (married to King Philip’s sister) for his kindnesses ( he instructed Onux, one of his wives, to tend to Rolandson’s needs and provides a meal of beans, meat, and ground-nut cake). She also liked, although distrusted, King Philip. With the savages exhibiting traits similar to the Puritans, Rolandson had to cope with the dichotomy posed by her dependence on God, on the one hand, and the good graces of the devil natives, on the other.
​She attempted to accommodate this dichotomy by using another wife of Quinnapin, Wettimore, to contrast the savage’s negative traits with her own positive characteristics. Wettimore was vain and interested in wealth and status and was particularly mean to Rolandson.
​Eleven weeks into her captivity and after many disappointments about her release, Rolandson was ransomed with twenty pounds (English money) from donations by the church and Puritans, many of whom she did not know. Her children were also released for smaller sums. Subsequently, the family eventually set up a new home in Boston.
​This recitations from the Puritan faith and their application to real events is similar to those found in Anne Bradstreet’s poems. Although the subject matter is different and Bradstreet’s poems were contemporaneous with the events she was describing, both authors still attempted to explain their hardships by integrating them with the Puritan faith and concepts.

Weaks – Rowlandson Blog

Reading this narrative, The Narrative of the Captivity and the Restoration
of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson (1682) was very disturbing; for Mary Rowlandson, living it must have been a nightmare. The first thought entering my mind when reading Mary’s trials was that the will to live is not equally distributed among all men. Obviously, even in those times, most would have succumbed and few would have been as strong willed as Mary Rowlandson. In my opinion, she also displayed incredible will power by refusing tobacco during a time of need and great stress. I say this based on claims by users of that drug, that it has a calming effect and I’m sure her “God” would have forgiven her for succumbing to the “bait the devil lays.”

In the eight remove, when King Philip offered her tobacco, she refused. I quote, “Then I went to see King Philip… and [he] asked me whether I would smoke it… but this no way suited me… It seems to be a bait the devil lays to make men lose their precious time. I remember with shame how formerly, when I had taken two or three pipes, I was presently ready for another, such a bewitching thing it is. But I thank God, He has now given me power over it…”

Many might think that passage insignificant, but to me, it further illustrates the internal fortitude of this woman. To some, focusing on a reference to the evils of tobacco in such a heart wrenching narrative would be considered, at best, folly, but let me assure you that is not my intent. I merely point out the reference to illustrate that I was not aware that the evils and additive properties of tobacco were recognized at that time and also to further emphasize Mary’s iron will.  

With that being said, we move on to the primary purpose of this blog and that is Mary’s attitude toward her captors and does Mary Rowlandson see herself as saved? In the prologue, before the First Remove, Mary describes her captives as “a company of hell-hounds, roaring, singing, ranting, and insulting.” In the next paragraph she refers to them as “ravenous beasts.”  Mary’s negative portrayal of the Indians continues into the First Remove.

  

The First Remove: “Oh the roaring, and singing and dancing, and yelling of those black creatures in the night, which made the place a lively resemblance of hell. And as miserable was the waste that was there made of horses, cattle, sheep…and fowl (which they had plundered in the town), some roasting…and some boiling to feed our merciless enemies; who were joyful enough, though we were disconsolate… Little do many think what is the savageness and brutishness of this barbarous enemy.” Mary refers to the Indians as “black creatures of the night” and their behavior fitting for a place in hell and from Mary’s perspective, that portrayal seems accurate and justified.

Second Remove: She further expresses her feelings about the Indians is the Second Remove when she comments, “Then they set me upon a horse with my wounded child in my lap, and there being no furniture upon the horse's back, as we were going down a steep hill we both fell over the horse's head, at which they, like inhumane creatures, laughed, and rejoiced to see it.” One is almost compelled to agree with Mary’s opinion of her captives. War is one thing, but to rejoice at the sight of a wounded child being further injured is at best inhumane.

Moving on to the Fifth Remove, “On that very day came the English army after them to this river, and saw the smoke of their wigwams, and yet this river put a stop to them. God did not give them courage or activity to go over after us. We were not ready for so great a mercy as victory and deliverance. If we had been God would have found out a way for the English to have passed this river…’Oh that my people had hearkened to me, and Israel had walked in my ways, I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries”’ (Psalm 81.13-14). Mary justifies the cowardice of the English as the work of God. At that moment I would have been more upset with the English than the Indians. The English abandon their pursuit knowing there were women and children captives. The English soldiers did not exhibit near the courage of Mary Rowlandson. Again, Mary justifies their lack of courage as the work of God. A question begs, “Is this really how she felt at the moment this was happening?”

Ninth Remove: In the Ninth Remove Mary seems to exhibit a little different view of the Indians and appears to be seeing some of them as individuals; a somewhat different prospective from the First and Second Remove.  Everyone that has analyzed Mary Rowlandson’s narrative has commented on her seemingly preoccupation with food and I’m forced to do the same, however I do so in an attempt illustrate her slightly changing attitude toward a few select Indians. I quote, “But I was fain to go and look after something to satisfy my hunger, and going among the wigwams, I went into one and there found a squaw who showed herself very kind to me, and gave me a piece of bear. . In the morning I went to the same squaw, who had a kettle of ground nuts boiling. I asked her to let me boil my piece of bear in her kettle, which she did, and gave me some ground nuts to eat with it: and I cannot but think how pleasant it was to me.” Again, it appears Mary is softening her views on a few particular Indians, although, in the Tenth Remove Mary appears to be perplexed of her treatment by the Indians. “I went home and found venison roasting that night, but they would not give me one bit of it. Sometimes I met with favor, and sometimes with nothing but frowns” and in the Thirteenth Remove she again refers to them as “barbarous heathens” when she discovers that she had been lied too in respect to her husband. I quote from that passage, “I certainly understood (though I suspected it before) that whatsoever the Indians told me respecting him was vanity and lies. Some of them told me he was dead, and they had killed him; some said he was married again…”

In the Sixteenth Mary writes, “but when they came near, there was a vast difference between the lovely faces of Christians, and foul looks of those heathens, which much damped my spirit again.” Then in the Nineteenth Remove she writes, “the squaw laid a mat under me, and a good rug over me; the first time I had any such kindness showed me.”

Keeping things in perspective, some Indians were kind to Mary, she was not raped, beaten or tortured, but she did have ashes thrown in her eyes by a jealous squaw and for the most part she was denied food through much of her ordeal.

Overall, I would conclude that Mary’s feelings about the Indians, as a collective group, did not change much during her captivity. The consensus opinion of Indians, by Puritans, was unfavorable at best and Mary would not have presented a favorable view of a group of people that committed unspeakable acts of savagery and brutality against her people. To paraphrase words not original to me, to do so would fly in the face of “Puritan Values.”

Mary sustained herself by her faith in God and a Bible that she was given early in her captivity by an Indian. Many times during her ordeal, Mary thanked God for watching over her. In the Third Remove following the death of her child Mary speaks these words, “I must and could lie down by my dead babe, side by side all the night after. I have thought since of the wonderful goodness of God to me in preserving me in the use of my reason and senses in that distressed time, that I did not use wicked and violent means to end my own miserable life.” In that passage, Mary acknowledges being in God’s good graces and thanks him for saving her. Through out her ordeal Mary thanks God for watching over her. In the Eight Remove, she invites her son to read from the Bible, “I asked him whether he would read. He told me he earnestly desired it, I gave him my Bible, and he lighted upon that comfortable Scripture ‘I shall not die but live, and declare the works of the Lord: the Lord hath chastened me sore yet he hath not given me over to death’ (Psalm 118.17-18). ‘Look here, mother,’ says he, ‘did you read this?’ And here I may take occasion to mention one principal ground of my setting forth these lines: even as the psalmist says, to declare the works of the Lord, and His wonderful power in carrying us along, preserving us in the wilderness, while under the enemy's hand, and returning of us in safety again.” Again, Mary is thanking the Lord and making it very clear that she believes she is saved.

Additionally, I was struck by the generosity of fellow Puritans toward the captives, in the form of money being donated for their release and lodging being offered to those in need. I will conclude this rather lengthy blog with a quote from the Twentieth Remove, “The Lord hath been exceeding good to us in our low estate, in that when we had neither house nor home, nor other necessaries, the Lord so moved the hearts of these and those towards us, that we wanted neither food, nor raiment for ourselves or ours: ‘There is a Friend which sticketh closer than a Brother’ (Proverbs 18.24). And how many such friends have we found, and now living amongst? And truly such a friend have we found him to be unto us, in whose house we lived, viz. Mr. James Whitcomb, a friend unto us near hand, and afar off.”

Mary’s narrative of her captivity set the stage, so to speak, for future captivity narratives that were to become part of early American Literature.

  

Engineer, Mary Rowlandson's Captivity

Mary Rowlandson’s Removes demonstrates her powerful Puritan faith during a period of great turmoil that is filled with strong emotions of despair and hope. In the First Remove, she narrates the dichotomy between the Indian pagans, who she calls “barbarous creatures” and her people who are of Christian faith. The Indian’s through their barbaric acts have completely destroyed her community and killed most of the people. She is one of the few who has been kept alive and taken into captivity. When she asks whether she could lodge in a vacant house, deserted by the English, they taunt her by asking “What, will you love English men still?”  The Indian’s portray the English men as cowards and not worth being faithful to. She portrays the Indian’s as “black creatures” and “merciless enemies” to signify the devil and his savage work. She feels that God is merciful and saved her life in her passage “all was gone (except my life).”

In the Third Remove, Rowlandson recalls her time during the Sabbath “I then remembered how careless I had been of God’s holy time; how many Sabbaths I had lost and misspent…..” as the cause for her Christian suffering during her captivity. Her wounds were a form of punishment for her suffering. God at the same time forgives and provides salvation through mercy. As Rowlandson narrates, “Yet the Lord showed mercy to me, and upheld me; and as He wounded me with one hand, so he healed me with other.” Robert Beer also experiences God’s hand through suffering and salvation. His suffering comes in the form of a leg wound during a fight with Captain Beer; at the same time, he experiences salvation through healing from the oaken leaves applied to his wound.

Continued in the Third Remove, Rowlandson experiences suffering through the loss of her child and doubts whether she will be saved “There I left that child in the wilderness, and must commit it, and myself also in this wilderness condition, to Him who is above all.” Also, God answers her lament through her son who comes to see her. When one of the Indians offers her a bible, she feels God is being merciful “I cannot but take notice of the wonderful mercy of God to me in those afflictions, in sending me a bible.” While reading the “seven first verses”, she believes that the only way she could be saved is through repentance. Rowlandson does not have any sympathy for the Indians, but anger which she openly expresses in strong words such as “savage”, “merciless enemies”, “barbarous enemy.” She stereotypes the Indians as living in the wilderness in the abode of the devil and her community as lambs being slaughtered, but will ultimately be saved. Rowlandson believes that she has been kept alive, to carry on the news to others in the community.