The Sovereignty And Goodness Of God
The Sovereignty And Goodness Of God
Several factors played a part as to why Mary Rowlandson endured her captivity. One factor was that she had good housewife skills. Her status in the English community was also a factor. Pure luck is always a factor in a situation such as hers. But, the single most important factor was her religion. Facing one of the most adverse times in her life, Mary never lost her faith in God.
Her housewife skills made her useful to the Indians. She was asked to knit clothes for them. She knitted caps, shirts and socks for the Indians, as well as fix clothes that were either too big or that were torn. The Indians also had her help in gathering food such as corn, groundnuts and water. When the Indians decided to remove themselves from one location and move to another, they had Mary help them carry some their belongings on her back.
Mary’s status also affected her captivity. Due to the fact that she was married to the minister of Lancaster, Joseph Rowlandson, she had a higher status than most in her community. Being a minister, Joseph achieved an elite status in Lancaster. He was addressed “mister”. “In status-conscience England and its’ colonies, “mister” was reserved for men of authority and learning such as magistrates, ministers, military officers, and the very wealthy merchants.” Mary was addressed “mistress”; in fact, she was the only woman of her town to be addressed in this manner, due to her being the wife of the minister. This status made her very valuable to the Indians. They could use Mary as collateral to bargain with the Englishmen to acquire food, supplies, possibly even land.
During the first few days of captivity, Mary and her daughter were still suffering from the wounds that the Indians inflicted during the attack of Lancaster as well as being spiritually wounded. Her daughter, Babe, was extremely sick with a violent fever that was caused from lack of food, water, shelter and her wounds. They were forced to sleep outside in the snow. Mary credits the Lord for allowing them to awake in the mornings.
Babe was closely encroaching death a bit more as each day passed. Mary continued quoting passages from the Bible to...