During The Fifth Remove, Mary Rowlandson talks about the hunger she felt. “The first week of my being among them, I hardly eat any thing; the second week, I found my stomach grow very faint for want of something…but the third week, though I could think how formerly my stomach would turn against this or that, and I could starve and die before I could eat such things, yet they were sweet and savory to my taste” (243-44). The thought of eating raw horse meat and bear meat was disgusting to Rowlandson. However, in her will to live and see her family again, Mary soon found the repulsive food satisfying.
Being the wife of a Puritan minister, Mary Rowlandson kept her faith in God and read her bible daily. She like many other Puritans believed that everything happens for a reason. This was just a test of her faith and service to God. Even though Rowlandson was going through this terrible ordeal, she believed that God would set her free. In The Third Remove, Mary recited Psalm 27, “Wait on the Lord, Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine Heart, wait I say on the Lord” (242). Mary Rowlandson’s faith paid off because in the month of May 1675, she was released and was able to return home to her family.
Mary Rowlandson’s faith in God and trust in some of the Native Americans helped her survive the long eleven weeks in the wilderness. While living with the Native Americans, Rowlandson realized that they were not so different as previously thought. They both had a will and desire to survive.
Works Cited
Rowlandson, Mary. “The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. 7th ed. Vol. A. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007. 235-67. Print.