Mary Rowlandson's Mistress Analysis

Mary Rowlandson and her mistress have a relationship based on dominancy. Mary’s mistress is the dominant figure, in which Mary is obliged to grant her mistress’ every order. If she does not comply then she would be punished. For example, Mary was beaten for refusing to give a piece of her apron to a maid that asked for it. Her mistress forced her to give it up by hitting her with a stick that could have killed her. Mary was also caught reading a bible and her mistress threw it away. Mary was able to recover it and continues to use the bible as her guide and reassurance that she is in God’s good hands. Mary’s relationship with her mistress shapes her portrayal of captivity as seeing it as a punishment by God, and as an opportunity for him to …show more content…
The fact that she sis held captive also brings about spiritual punishment. The spiritual punishment she faces is accepting that she is a sinner like the characters she relates to in the bible. As a result, she believes that God is punishing her for carelessly misusing the Sabbath in the past. The way she refers to the bible and her constant prayers to God shows that she is a spiritual person. However the fact that she does not respect the Sabbath is her flaw in her relationship with God.
One would think Mary would be angry with God for punishing her but instead she willingly accepts. By accepting this punishment she acknowledges God’s sovereignty. Even though she thinks captivity as a punishment she still believes that God has mercy and will save her. It is in times of struggle and difficulty when one can encounter God because he gives hope to his people. She quotes the Psalm, “Be still and know that I am God,” which consoled her spirit (Rowlandson 19). Many times when she gets punished by her mistress she prays to God and opens her bible to a passage which reassures and gives her …show more content…
She compares her journey to Job, David, Moses, and the Israelites. Her spiritual journey is paired with her constant referral to the bible. It is as if God is speaking to her through the bible. An example is when she and other people were crossing a river she would refer to Isaiah about God being present with his people passing through rough waters (metaphorically in the bible but for her it is literal). She uses the bible stories to reflect on her spiritual journey. Her situation is like Job who was struck with difficult circumstances. Her physical journey is like the Israelites that were roaming around the desert to go to the promise land. In the end she eventually returns with her but before that she was spiritually changed.
She says that she has seen the vanities of the world. She lived a good life before her captivity and that it can easily be taken away by God. For her God was showing her that she does not have control and that life can easily change into suffereing. In order for God to show that he is powerful requires hardship so that he can bring up his people out of it. The lesson learned is that one should trust in God especially during times of trouble because he will show his saving power for his