The Unredeemed Captive is the factual telling of the Deerfield Massacre and the ways it effected the Williams family who lost their daughter as a captive to the Bear tribe of the Mohawk Native Americans. The book deeply explores religion and how it relates to the ideas of savagery and family through comparison of experiences in the lives of the Puritans and the lives of the Native American captors. The Deerfield Massacre occurred in 1704 in Massachusetts. The massacre was carried out by a tribe of Native Americans in retaliation against French and English attacks. The small town of Deerfield was raided and about 112 people were taken captive with 47 more being slain on the spot. The captives are then forced to march 250 miles through the
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Williams’ daughter Eunice becomes the most important character of the novel, acting as a comparison between the “civilized” lifestyles of the Puritans and the “savage” lives of Native Americans. Eunice is only eight when she is traded to the Mohawk Bear tribe where she continues to live until her death despite rescue attempts from her father and others. When Eunice first begins living in this new tribe, her father receives permission to meet with her once. After this meeting that her father reports that she has maintained her civilized nature in the presence of savages saying, “Eunice ‘could read very well’ and had learned her catechism” (p. 119). By 1407 however, Eunice refused to come back to Deerfield with her father, fully embracing her life as an “unredeemed captive” of the Mohawk Native Americans. After remaining in the care of her captors for eight years, much to her father’s dismay, Eunice was married to a man named François-Xavier Arosen, a Mohawk man of 26 years. A powerful line in the novel shows Rev. Williams dismay, “For Eunice, their Eunice—a young gentlewoman, daughter to the Reverend Mr. Williams, minister at Deerfield, and child of so many prayers—has just been married. And her husband is a “Philistine” indeed. An Indian. A Catholic. A savage” (p. 86). This line shows insight into the ideas of what makes a civilized person. Instead of the previous idea that a person needed a religion, a family, and a non-nomadic lifestyle, the idea …show more content…
Through the various opinions towards Native Americans from main characters such as Eunice, Rev. Williams, and Stephen, it is better understood the opinions the groups have towards each other. From the opinions of Eunice, it is revealed that the native way of life is perhaps not as “savage” as assumed. If it was, Eunice would not want to stay and get married to a man from the tribe. Instead she would want to return to her family. Rev. Williams writings represent a typical view towards natives. Many Puritans were fearful of their way of life and regarded them as “savage”. Perhaps Rev. Williams had a right to this opinion after half of his family was killed during their capture. But maybe he was acting close minded towards them, especially after learning that his daughter was happy in her situation. As previously stated, Stephen is the moderate in the situation. His ideas represent a more open view common in newer generations that had been raised around and exposed to native culture without being immersed in it for long enough to forget their prior teachings. To conclude, this account reveals the many viewpoints towards native culture and “savagery” that colonialists held, reaching from accepting and embracing it to being fully against
Williams’ daughter Eunice becomes the most important character of the novel, acting as a comparison between the “civilized” lifestyles of the Puritans and the “savage” lives of Native Americans. Eunice is only eight when she is traded to the Mohawk Bear tribe where she continues to live until her death despite rescue attempts from her father and others. When Eunice first begins living in this new tribe, her father receives permission to meet with her once. After this meeting that her father reports that she has maintained her civilized nature in the presence of savages saying, “Eunice ‘could read very well’ and had learned her catechism” (p. 119). By 1407 however, Eunice refused to come back to Deerfield with her father, fully embracing her life as an “unredeemed captive” of the Mohawk Native Americans. After remaining in the care of her captors for eight years, much to her father’s dismay, Eunice was married to a man named François-Xavier Arosen, a Mohawk man of 26 years. A powerful line in the novel shows Rev. Williams dismay, “For Eunice, their Eunice—a young gentlewoman, daughter to the Reverend Mr. Williams, minister at Deerfield, and child of so many prayers—has just been married. And her husband is a “Philistine” indeed. An Indian. A Catholic. A savage” (p. 86). This line shows insight into the ideas of what makes a civilized person. Instead of the previous idea that a person needed a religion, a family, and a non-nomadic lifestyle, the idea …show more content…
Through the various opinions towards Native Americans from main characters such as Eunice, Rev. Williams, and Stephen, it is better understood the opinions the groups have towards each other. From the opinions of Eunice, it is revealed that the native way of life is perhaps not as “savage” as assumed. If it was, Eunice would not want to stay and get married to a man from the tribe. Instead she would want to return to her family. Rev. Williams writings represent a typical view towards natives. Many Puritans were fearful of their way of life and regarded them as “savage”. Perhaps Rev. Williams had a right to this opinion after half of his family was killed during their capture. But maybe he was acting close minded towards them, especially after learning that his daughter was happy in her situation. As previously stated, Stephen is the moderate in the situation. His ideas represent a more open view common in newer generations that had been raised around and exposed to native culture without being immersed in it for long enough to forget their prior teachings. To conclude, this account reveals the many viewpoints towards native culture and “savagery” that colonialists held, reaching from accepting and embracing it to being fully against