LITR 4326 Early American Literature Research Posts 2016 (research post assignment) Research Post 2

Michelle Liaw

Captivity Narratives: The Female Experience

Expanding on my initial research post on John Smith, I decided to delve further into captivity narratives by researching the impact of gender on captivity narratives. The astonishing amount of captives taken from early American settlements is testament to the struggles faced by the convergence of two separate cultures. Not only have captivity narratives become a form of justification of New World expansion, but also a vital attribute to popular literature. The popularity and acclaim of captivity narratives raises the question as to how and why gender plays a role in heightening the attraction of this genre.

          Considered the inaugural text for English captivity narratives, Mary Rowlandson’s experience as a captive became the beacon for spreading religious beliefs and breaking down unjust gender inequalities. Her gruesome account paints a picture of a colonial Puritan woman separated brutally from her family, garnering sympathy through the female experience. In Rachel Bailey’s thesis Creating a New Genre, Mary Rowlandson and Her Narrative of Indian Captivity, she argues that whether or not other female autobiographical writings received the same attention as Rowlandson, the importance lay in the fact that equality between the sexes was achieved. Early Puritan females were able to stand on equal terms with men in a society that only praised male authority and presence. The idea of a respected religious mother undergoing harsh circumstances outside of the normal confines of a Puritan household became initiative enough for society to dash at a chance at reading Rowlandson’s removes. For many modern scholars, Rowlandson’s work makes her America’s first female literary prose voice (Lorrayne). Rowlandson’s narrative not only initiated an entire literary genre but also achieved revolutionary progress in equal recognition for women.

In the midst of gothic portrayals of death and violence, an overall fear of descending from religion resounds as the common theme. In Teresa Toulouse’s book, The Captive's Position: Female Narrative, Male Identity, and Royal Authority in Colonial New England, the argument that the voice of female captives helped dominant male colonials address both political and religious identity was presented. Rowlandson’s accounts show the religious dimensions of captivity that were intended to influence a spiritual transformation among the audience. As tensions between colonists and Native Americans grew, especially in the aftermath of King Philip’s War, fear of losing the Protestant culture contributed to the popularity of female captivity narratives as a spiritual trial or redemption success story. Kathryn Derounian-Stodola and several scholars noted the possible influence that minister Increase Mather may have played on the text (Stratton), highlighting the appropriation of women’s narratives during a time of religious turmoil. The usage of female captivity narratives as a reminder of the importance of keeping true to Puritan ideas in the face of adversity helps to create a role model example for women in the confines of the colonies.

The genre of captivity narratives will always hold interest to me as the drama and detailed personal accounts become more like fiction than a historical account. The gothic and dark descriptions of Rowlandson’s experiences help in cementing America’s cultural heritage. Initially, I had hoped to tie in Smith’s accounts or even Mary Jemison’s narrative to further solidify my research, but I found that Rowlandson’s narrative alone pioneered significant change in proving the impact of gender in captivity narratives. Not only did it revolutionize gender inequalities for women and it also provided religious sanctity for the colonists. 

Sources:

Bailey, De Luise Rachel. Creating a New Genre Mary Rowlandson and Her Narrative of Indian Captivity. Thesis. East Tennessee State University, 2002. Print.

Lorrayne Carroll, “Captivity Literature,” Oxford Handbook of Early American Literature, ed. Kevin J. Hayes (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008), 143-168.

Stratton, Billy J. (2013), Buried in Shades of Night: Contested Voices, Indian Captivity, and the Legacy of King Philip's War, Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press

Toulouse, Teresa. The Captive's Position: Female Narrative, Male Identity, and Royal Authority in Colonial New England. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania, 2007. Print.

Vaughan, Alden T., and Daniel K. Richter. "Crossing the Cultural Divide:Indians and New Englanders, 1605-1763." Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society 90 (1980): 23-99.