When a person is placed in a troubling position, they may have no choice but to sacrifice some of their moral values and beliefs if they want to survive. Mary Rowlandson is a partial example of this, as it is read about in her narrative, The Sovereignty and Goodness of God (1682). Rowlandson was a strict Puritan who lived in Lancaster, MA, the wife of a minister, and she was also a visible saint. A visible saint was someone who God was going to save from damnation, and it was obvious to those around you if you were chosen because you were portrayed perfectly in the religious views.
Mary Rowlandson depended on God for her saving in the afterlife and believed that her fate was in His hands. She was however, placed in situations which were beyond her control, in which she had to participate in activities that she felt were taking her away from God. In February 1675 the Native Americans attacked her village and more specifically her home, while her husband was away giving a church sermon. They took Rowlandson captive, as well as other family members and friends and made them endure the daily travels that they embarked on (Rowlandson, 68). All along though, she always had her Bible with her and read it every moment she could, frequently finding scripture verses which helped to keep her faith up, knowing God was going to help get her through every obstacle she faced.
Although she did not give up on her Puritan beliefs, she sometimes had to participate in activities that normally would have been appalling to her in her regular surroundings of other Puritans. We learn about the values Puritans held high in their beliefs and how strongly they believe that they need to do God’s will in order to succeed in life and in their afterlife. Two values which are held in high regards by the Puritans are family and God, including obeying the day of Sabbath and putting all their trust in Him.
One of the important Puritan values which Rowlandson exemplifies in her narrative is the importance of family. When the Rowlandson’s house is first attacked by the natives and set on fire, she clings to her smallest child to help bring her to safety, as well as helping all her other children. When Mary Rowlandson is shot, the shot also enters through the body of the small helpless child (Rowlandson, 70) and some women fearing for their life would have left the child and tried to escape, but not Rowlandson, she clung to the child and took her with her when she was taken captive. While Mary Rowlandson spent weeks traveling with the natives, unsure of where the rest of her family and friends were being held, she always made every effort she could to see them. Shortly after her youngest daughter had died, her master allowed her to go see her other daughter Mary (Rowlandson, 75) and in another instance she was able to visit her son (Rowlandson, 81). Even though Rowlandson was being held captive, she always did everything she could in effort to see her children. The natives travel in large groups, somewhat like a large family, so they weren’t concerned about seeing relatives like Rowlandson was.
The efforts she was making in order to see family members any time she could, shows that she truly values the idea of family. Anytime she saw an Englishman (Rowlandson, 97), one of her first questions was always about her husband, how he was doing, just to make sure everyone at home was doing okay. She genuinely cared about all those people she considered family, friends, and neighbors.
Among the Puritans, the Sabbath was a day of rest, they were not permitted to do any work, only to attend church and spend the day in prayer. Rowlandson was afraid of what God was going to do to her because she had been sinful on many accounts during the Sabbath (Rowlandson, 74). She realized how many days of God’s Sabbath she had done wrong and fully knew and believed that God should not try to save her, for she had been doing evil (Rowlandson, 74) because she had continued to do her master’s work and travel with the rest of the natives on many days of Sabbath in the past weeks. Many Puritans believed that even the slightest wrong they did against God would result in their damnation and constantly feared the wrath of God, which was exemplified by Rowlandson at this point.
Mary Rowlandson had been as respectful to her master as could be expected of someone being held captive but her master definitely did not, which was proven when she mentioned the Sabbath. When asking her master if she could rest because it was her acknowledged day of Sabbath, promising that she’d do all the work missed the next day, the response she got was that they would beat her if she rested (Rowlandson, 79).
Although that was an instance when Mary Rowlandson had attempted to follow part of her strict religion, there were other times when then suffering she was enduring got to her and she acted inappropriately, in ways which would be viewed as sinful in nature. One of the most shocking behaviors Rowlandson admitted in her narrative was when she was so hungry that she took food away from a starving child so she could have it herself (Rowlandson, 96). People’s mind definitely work differently when under new pressures and if Rowlandson had been in an Englishtown among her fellow Puritans, it is safe to assume that she would not have even thought about depriving a child of nutrients, just to better herself, to feed her own selfishness.
Although there were several times when Rowlandson turned her back on her Puritan values, throughout the entire narrative, she frequently made references to the Bible, showing how important and how familiar it was to her. The first time Mary Rowlandson had to cross through waters which she was unfamiliar with, she reminding herself of this passage: “When thou passeth through the waters I will be with thee, and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee,” Isaiah 43. 2 (Rowlandson, 79). Even though she was afraid of the dangers that were ahead of her, she still used her Puritan beliefs that God was going to guide her and not allow her to get into any serious trouble. Not only did she use the Bible to comfort herself, but also the other captives with whom she visited during her journey. When she found one who told Mary Rowlandson that she was planning on running away to escape the treacheries they were facing, Rowlandson replied: “Wait on the Lord, Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart, wait I say on the Lord,” Psalm 27 (Rowlandson, 77). Though there were times Mary Rowlandson became discouraged and had trouble dealing with things in the proper way, she always believed in God’s grace, that he would pull her through every situation she found herself in.
Mary Rowlandson was placed in an awful predicament, she was used to following strict Puritan ways, she had grown up with the church and reading the Bible, but had to make herself go against many of her beliefs when she was held captive by the natives. We were able to see how Puritan values were reflected in her narrative, The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, by learning about what beliefs she was able to keep true to and which she had to adapt in order to be acceptable of those who were holding her captive.
Works Cited
Rowlandson, Mary. The Sovereignty and Goodness of God. Boston, MA: Bedford, 1997.
Salisbury, Neal. The Sovereignty and Goodness of God: Introduction: Mary Rowlandson and Her Removes. Boston, MA: Bedford, 1997.
