Mary Rowlandson; a puritan’s faith in fearful times

Facts and figures can only reveal so much of how the American landscape should be betrayed. Facts and figures cannot convey the deep emotions involved in traveling to a new land, and shaping a new life. The nearest form of cultural feelings, experiences, and relations are found in narratives that shape our understanding of the American frontier. Mary Rowlandson tells a remarkable tale, were cultural boundaries are crossed and cultural clashing is witnessed in the form of both violence and hospitality.
Mary Rowlandson’s narrative is set in the middle of king Philip’s war, or what would become more specifically known as Metacom’s war. This was a time of great fear and bloodshed, with 1 in 65 settlers, and 3 in 20 natives losing their lives in a war that would last little more than fifteen months. During the course of Metacom’s war two thirds of the English settlements in the Massachusetts area were attacked by the native tribes. The conflict arose from growing tension over what the natives believed was a wrongful encroachment on their rightful land and territory’s. The tensions exemplify how miscommunications between the New England settlers and the Native American leader Metacom, known and referred to as King Phillip, lead to unneeded death and destruction, along with the events recorded in the chronicle or Mary Rowlandson.
Mary White(Rowlandson) was born in England and in 1639, together with her family, traveled to the Land of freedom and opportunity. Shortly afterwards they settled in Lancaster, and although not rich, by contemporary terms, they were among the wealthiest families that inhabited the Lancaster area. Mary Rowlandson married Joseph Rowlandson in the year 1656, and together they conceived four children, the youngest dying in early childhood. Joseph obtained his minister license in 1660; this founded what would become a strong puritan foundation in the Rowlandson household.
The puritan faith of the Rowlandson family plays a purgative role in the events that would unfold. Mary sees the past, present, and future events as divinely appointed outcomes govern by her mighty savior, all of which are designed to teach a lesson, and reward or punish each individual for there actions, or the actions of one in their community. Mary believes that all the misfortunes that befall her are there to teach her and her colleagues a lesson, because her god works through them for a greater good. It is in this worldview, or vantage point that her narrative is written, and must be understood.
The narrative of Mary Rowland is a powerful tool for an American scholar when viewed in context with the beliefs that she held. Much can be observed of the trials, confrontations, and misunderstandings of two groups who are not either wholly in the wrong. Culture is built on history, and history is observed in stark and blunts written literature as the one piece observed in Mary’s narrative; a narrative that gives a very real and extreme conception of an early development in American culture and heritage.

Works Cited
Pulsipher, Jenny Hale. "Massacre at Hurtleberry Hill: Christian Indians and English authority in Metacom's War." William & Mary Quarterly 53.3 (July 1996): 459. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 3 Sep. 2009 .

Rowlandson. Mary White. The Account of Mary Rowlandson and Other Indian Captivity Narratives. Ed.

King Philip's War, wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Philip%27s_War, (accessed 09,02,2009)