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Mary (White) Rowlandson was a colonial American woman who was captured during an attack by Native Americans during King Philip's War and held ransom for 11 weeks. After being released, she wrote ''A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson'', also known as ''The Sovereignty and Goodness of God''. It is a work in the literary genre of captivity narratives. It is considered to be one of America's first bestsellers, four editions appearing in 1682 when it was first published.〔Lauter, Paul, et al., eds. ''The Heath Anthology of American Literature.'' 3rd ed. vol. 1. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1998, p. 425〕 ==Plot Summary== On February 10, 1675, the settlement of Lancaster, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, was attacked by Native Americans. The Native Americans burnt houses down and opened fire on the British settlers, killing several of them and wounding more. They take many of the survivors captive, including Mary Rowlandson and her three children. Mary and her youngest child are among the injured while others of her family, like her brother-in-law, are killed. The Native Americans lead the captured survivors from their settlement into the wilderness. Rowlandson and her youngest, Sarah are allowed to stay together, but her two oldest, Joseph and Mary, were separated. After spending a night in a nearby town, the Native Americans and the captives head further into the wilderness. Being injured, the journey is difficult for Rowlandson and her daughter. They reach an Indian settlement called Wenimesset, where Rowlandson meets another captive named Robert Pepper who tries to help the new captives. After staying in Wenimesset for about a week, Rowlandson’s injured daughter, Sarah, dies. Rowlandson is sold to another Indian who is related to King Philip by marriage. They bury Rowlandson’s dead daughter, and she is allowed to visit her oldest daughter Mary who is also being held in Wenimesset, and her oldest son who is allowed to visit from a nearby Indian settlement. The Indians give Rowlandson a Bible where she finds hope. After attacking another town the Native Americans decide to head north and Rowlandson is again taken away from her family and “friends” she made. The Native Americans Rowlandson is with begin to move quickly through the forest as she suspects the British army must be close by. They come to the Baquaug River and cross it with the British soldiers close behind. However the British are not able to cross and Rowlandson and the Indians continue northwest. They reach the Connecticut River and plan on meeting King Philip, but English scouts are present so they must scatter and hide. Rowlandson and the Indians soon cross the river and meet King Philip. At this settlement, Rowlandson sews for the Indians for food. Rowlandson wants to go to Albany in hopes of being sold for gunpowder but the Indians take her northward and cross the river again. Rowlandson starts hoping she will be returned home, but now the Indians turn south continuing along the Connecticut River instead of turning east towards civilization. The Indians continue their attacks, and Thomas Read joins Rowlandson’s group. Read tells Rowlandson that her husband is alive and well, which gives her hope and comfort. Rowlandson and her group finally start to move east. They cross the Baquaug River again where they meet messengers telling Rowlandson she must go to Wachuset where the Indians will discuss her possibility of returning to freedom. Rowlandson eagerly heads toward Wachuset, but the journey wears her down and she is disheartened by the sight of an injured colonist from a previous Indian attack. She reaches Wachuset and speaks to King Philip who guarantees she will be free in two weeks. The council asks how much her husband would pay for her ransom and they send a letter to Boston saying she can be free for twenty pounds. After many more Indian attacks and victories Rowlandson is allowed to travel back to Lancaster, then to Concord and finally to Boston. She is reunited with her husband after 11 long weeks. They stay with a friend in Concord for a while until Rowlandson’s sister, son, and daughter are returned. Now back together, the family builds a house in Boston where they live until 1677. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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