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Title: Sovereignty and Goodness of God, Together With the Faithfulness of His Promises Displayed: Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson and Related Documents by Neal Salisbury, Mary Rowlandson ISBN: 0-312-11151-7 Publisher: Bedford Books Pub. Date: 01 January, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (3 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: great history and great literature, too
Comment: Interestingly enough, I read this for a course on early American literature. But as a history major, I can say that it would have served equally well in a course on, say, Colonial New England or Social Life in Colonial America. It provides fascinating insights into Puritan life--especially into its religious beliefs and practices and the huge role they played in the life of a Puritan. Moreover, it chronicles the contact of two societies at odds: Puritans and Native Americans. Rowlandson's descriptions of her captors are exceedingly interesting and give depth to any consideration of life in early America. Salisbury's notes and introduction are also quite helpful. Read as a piece of literature, moreover, The Sovereignty and Goodness of God proves to be a fruitful topic for study, as well as a great complement to its function as an historical document. Considering my English course included some rather unsavory texts, this one was much appreciated and quite refreshing, too.
Rating: 4
Summary: A fascinating historic document
Comment: "The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, Together with the Faithfulness of His Promises Displayed," by Mary Rowlandson, is a compelling piece of colonial American literature. First published in 1682, this autobiographical text represents a genre of literature known as the "captivity narrative": a first-person account of a white settler who was held as a hostage or prisoner by Native Americans. In Rowlandson's case, she was taken captive during Metacom's War (also known as King Philip's War), which took place in 1675-1676.
The edition of Rowlandson's book edited by Neal Salisbury is excellent. This edition contains Rowlandson's text, together with a wealth of other materials: a thorough introduction, many maps, a chronology, a bibliography, and other historic documents from Rowlandson's era. The many illustrations include photographs of the title pages of earlier editions.
Rowlandson's captivity narrative is a significant milestone in American literature; the introduction to the Salisbury edition notes that the text "has been almost continually in print since 1770." Since the text itself is relatively short, it has appeared in anthologies (see, for example, "The Harper Single Volume American Literature," third edition). But the many "extras" in the Salisbury edition definitely make it a book worth buying, even if you have an anthology already containing the Rowlandson text.
Rowlandson's memoir itself is not great literature stylistically. But it is a fascinating text with some really striking passages. Rowlandson's extreme evangelical Puritanism will likely alienate or bewilder some modern readers, but her religious attitude should be read in historic and cultural context. Similarly, her extremely racist descriptions of Indians ("merciless Heathen," "ravenous Beasts," etc.) should to be read in context (but should not be trivialized, especially in multiethnic classrooms where this text might be taught).
This book is a significant document of contact between cultures in times of extreme crisis. It is an especially intriguing text for those careful readers who really try to read "between the lines." Recommended as companion texts: William Apess' "A Son of the Forest and Other Writings" (Apess was a pioneer Native American writer) and James Fenimore Cooper's novel "The Last of the Mohicans."
Rating: 4
Summary: Religious devotion in Indian captivity
Comment: Modern feminists who claim Rowlandson as a progenitor are sorely mistaken. Rowlandson, in fact, ascribed to those same conservative, religious values that today's society lacks.
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Title: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave: Written by Himself by Frederick Douglass, John W. Blassingame, John R. McKivigan, Peter P. Hinks, Gerald Fulkerson ISBN: 0300087012 Publisher: Yale Nota Bene Pub. Date: 01 March, 2001 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
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Title: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet A. Jacobs ISBN: 0486419312 Publisher: Dover Publications Pub. Date: 01 November, 2001 List Price(USD): $2.00 |
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Title: Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition by Jan Shipps ISBN: 0252014170 Publisher: University of Illinois Press Pub. Date: 01 February, 1987 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Benjamin and William Franklin: Father & Son, Patriot & Loyalist by Sheila L. Skemp ISBN: 0312086172 Publisher: Bedford Books Pub. Date: 01 March, 1994 List Price(USD): $16.35 |
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Title: Uncle Tom's Cabin (Bantam Classics) by Harriet Beecher Stowe, Alfred Kazin ISBN: 0553212184 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 January, 1983 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
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