The Puritans’ Covenant With God, As Revealed In Narrative Of The Captivity & Res

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The Puritans’ Covenant With God, As Revealed In Narrative Of The Captivity & Restoration Of

The Puritans’ Covenant With God, As Revealed in Narrative of the Captivity & Restoration of
Mrs. Mary Rowlandson
When one thinks of the Puritans, images are conjured of Pilgrims sharing a Thanksgiving
feast with their Indian neighbors. The Puritans settled in New England to exercise their religious
freedom to worship God in their own devout (and some believed) overly zealous way. They were
going to tame the savage Indian beasts, and all would live happily ever after. At least, that’s what
the myth would have us believe. However, real life bears little resemblance to its mythical
depictions, and the actual relationship between the English colonists and the Indian settlers was
always uneasy at best. When cultures eventually collided in the late seventeenth century, there
was inevitable bloodshed. The cornerstone of the Puritan religion is that believers were the
chosen people of God, and it is this unique relationship and its resulting covenant which is at the
heart of Mary Rowlandson’s harrowing 1682 memoir, Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration
of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.
A ‘divine providence’ special covenant had been articulated in Governor John Winthrop’s
“A Model of Christian Charity” (Gleason hhr4-2.htm). The special relationship between Puritans
and God was described as, “We are entered into Covenant with Him. ... we shall be as a city upon
a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us” (Gleason hhr4-2.htm). In order to satisfy this covenant,
Winthrop believed that Puritans had an obligation to serve as the ideal Christians, exercising
unwavering faith, regardless of the traumatic situations which confronted them. God would
provide guidance and protection in return, which would allow these ‘chosen’ souls triumph over
adversity (Gleason hhr4-2.htm). Mary Rowlandson’s narrative personifies this devotion to God,
and while not always understanding God’s plan, the believer is always unquestioning.
Mrs. Rowlandson’s narrative begins in February of 1675, when a group of Indians, led by
King Philip, descended upon Lancaster, Massachusetts, and attacked the English settlers living
there, including Pastor Joseph Rowlandson, his wife Mary, and their children. Mary recalled that
when her sister was dead and that Mary was wounded, “She said, ‘And Lord, let me die with
them,’ which was no sooner said, but she was struck with a bullet, and fell down dead over the
threshold...

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