Captivity Louise Erdrich Summary

In the poem, Captivity by Louise Erdrich, a deeper meaning of the hardships and liberation of captivity are shown. The overall meaning of the poem the author is expressing to the reader is that one should follow the word of god while being held in captivity, but to not limit themselves to being narrow minded and limited in terms of thinking. The narrator of the poem is expressing to the audience that the experience of her capture was eventually an eye opener to her. It is a unique experience that made her question her entire life and purpose on this planet. This theme was shown in the poem when the speaker first mentioned that, “We were pursued by God’s agents or pitch devils, I did not know. Only that we must march.” This quote represents …show more content…
The speaker first felt liberated when she says that, “…the bones like the stems of flowers, that I followed where he took me.” This quote has shown that the speaker does feel free. The message she is trying to portray is that she does not mind following her captors around as he is treating her with care and respect. Another quote the speaker portrays of her liberation is when she says, “I stripped a branch and struck the earth, in time, begging it to open to admit me as he was…” She reminisces the experience of her hostage situation and longs for her captors to come take her back so she may live an open and equally treated life without worrying of her sins constantly. The speaker truly wants to be gone from Puritan society to experience a more liberating life. This concept of being liberated has been present in some female hostages who were taken by the Native Americans during the Puritan era. Traditionally, the life of a Puritan woman was very submissive. They were to obey their husbands and were not allowed to speak freely. God was the ultimate and final word. Although, some hostages taken by Natives did feel a sense of the freedom that they endured while being held captive and longed for it. One example is Mary Rowlandson who was not forced to be a subject and obey. She was treated fairly well and was not controlled constantly. This mirrored the speaker in the poem who also felt liberated by her hostage