Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
English
Date of Award
8-2002
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Michael A. Cody
Committee Members
Mark Holland, Judith B. Slagle
Abstract
In the aftermath of King Philip's War, Puritan Mary Rowlandson recorded her experiences as an Indian captive. In a vivid story that recollects the details of these events, Rowlandson attempts to impart a message to her community through the use of a variety of literary techniques. The genre of the Indian captivity narrative is a literary construct that she develops out of the following literary forms that existed at the time of her writing. These are the spiritual autobiography, a documentary method meant to archive spiritual and emotional growth through a record of daily activities; the conversion narrative, which made public one's theological assurance of God's grace; and the jeremiad, a sermon form designed to remind Puritans of their Covenant with God. To her contemporaries, Rowlandson served as an example of God's Providence. To later generations and specifically twenty-first century scholars, she represents America's first female literary prose voice.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
De Luise, Rachel Bailey, "Creating a New Genre: Mary Rowlandson and Hher Narrative of Indian Captivity." (2002). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 699. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/699
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.