Mary Rowlandson: A Woman of Faith

Mary Rowlandson was a colonial woman who was captured by the Native Americans during what was known as the King Philip’s War. Rowlandson had to deal with being segregated from her family and the death of her own child. Rowlandson having her daughter in her arms explains, “Thus nine days I sat upon my knees, with my babe in my lap, till my flesh was raw again; my child being even ready to depart this sorrowful world, they bade me carry it out to another wigwam (I suppose because they would not be troubled with such spectacles) whither I went with a very heavy heart, and down I sat with the picture of death in my lap” (Rowlandson). Reading this quote, you can feel the agony and pain Rowlandson is going through. A parent never expects their child to die before them, it was an absolute nightmare for her. As I said before she was held captive and was exposed to an unfamiliar culture as well.

It is amazing that throughout the text, you would expect this experience to ruin her life and leave her hopeless as many of us would. Her strong faith of God and the presence of the holy scriptures kept her moving on for a better life ahead. Rowlandson states, “It is not my tongue, or pen, can express the sorrows of my heart, and bitterness of my spirit that I had at this departure: but God was with me in a wonderful manner, carrying me along, and bearing up my spirit, that it did not quite fail” (Rowlandson). Even though she was suffering a great deal, she believed God was by her side protecting her and guiding her through the troubles. Throughout her narrative, there are so many verses from the Bible; it was evident that every time certain situations were not in her favor, there was as she believed a “spiritual explanation” behind it and that God “works in mysterious ways”. For many Christians around the world, she is truly a splendid example. I would think Mary Rowlandson was saved due to her strong faith.