Rowlandson & the Puritan Viewpoint

Paper Summary:

In this essay, the writer discusses the Puritan way of thinking about salvation and grace that is echoed within the end of Rowlandson's distinctly Puritan captivity narrative, "The Narrative of the Captivity and the Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson". The writer points out that Mary Rowlandson's quest for self-analysis and self-revelation, within her autobiographical account of her time in captivity, centers on her individual relationship to God, before, during, and particularly after her ordeal. Further, the writer notes that Mary Rowlandson's account of her ordeal at the hands of Indians, and her survival of that ordeal, is in fact as much about how God helped her through the experience as it is about the experience itself.

From the Paper:

"Of central importance to Puritanism, as illustrated within the writings of John Winthrop; John Edwards, Mary Rowlandson, and others, is the idea of God's divine authority over human beings on earth, and, consequently, the importance of seeking salvation and grace, in both detailed personal and religiously abstract ways, through both individual and collective earthly deeds. The Puritans studied closely, and sought to obey, in individual ways and as a united group (see, for example, John Winthrop's "A Model of Christian Charity," a sermon delivered on the way to the New World, in which Winthrop stresses the importance of working as a united group toward salvation and grace), the words of God, as expressed within the Bible."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "The Narrative of the Captivity and the Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson" (1682) by Mary Rowlandson

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