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Mary Rowlandson The Sovereignty And Goodness Of God Summary

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When Mary Rowlandson was captured by Indians in 1675 she would have never guessed that her perception of Indians would change. She would be partly correct, as demonstrated in “The Sovereignty and Goodness of God.” Mary Rowlandson gains a more accepting view of Indian culture, but she still maintains the rigid Puritan perception that Indians are inferior. Initially, Mary Rowlandson, like most Puritans, views the Indians as inferior and as the enemy. When Rowlandson is captured, she refers to the Indians as the “others.” In calling them “others” she dehumanizes the Indians and refers to them as beneath her. When reflecting on the Indian attack, Rowlandson says; "It is a solemn night to see so many Christians lying in their blood, some here, …show more content…

She says; "The first week of my being among them, I hardly eat anything; the second week, I found my stomach grow very faint for want of something; and yet it was very hard to get down their filthy trash.” Even when faced with hunger, Rowlandson rejects the Indian’s food. However, shortly after, Rowlandson’s opinion changes: “the third week, though I could think how formerly my stomach would turn against this or that, and I could starve and die before I could eat such things, yet they were sweet and savory to my taste.” Rowlandson’s behavior changes because she is no longer eating the Indian food out of a sheer necessity, rather she is also eating the food out of desire. Her attitude towards the food is symbolic of her relationship with the Indians as a whole; now Rowlandson has some admiration for the Indian …show more content…

Rowlandson believes that her captivity was a result of her sins and God forcing her to repent; "I then remembered how careless I had been of Gods holy time… and how evilly I had walked in Gods sight… it was easy for me to see how righteous it was with God to cut off the thread of my life.” Rowlandson comes to the conclusion that the captivity was God’s punishment; although she may seem more accepting of the Indians, she continues to degrade them because she believes that they only serve as a form of punishment for

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