marroquin ENGL 227 Project
vmarroquin
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In Mary Rowlandson’s account of her captivity of the Indians was a best-selling topic of the time, yet her honesty of the happenings had to be constrained due to her status. She was a woman and it was not viewed as proper behavior for a woman to speak of things as vulgar and barbaric as rape, regardless if they occurred or not. The narrative she writes is granted certain literary freedom that the other women in the paper have not had the privilege to experience. Rowlandson possesses the liberty to paint a very negative image of the Indians due to the pre-established misconceptions of these peoples. This fear stems from misunderstanding and the unwillingness to advance toward improving relations between one another. Due to this widely accepted hatred of Indians as a whole, Rowlandson elaborately constructs these people to be savages in Satan’s domain. This powerful image is permitted and even encouraged by her readers because of her status in life; she is the daughter of a prominent father and the wife to respected Reverend. Her narrative would not have been successful despite the high demand for such stories because she alone could not vouch for her writing without the valid support of men that were already established in the community and dubbed as acceptable supporters. Her sole identity as a writer had to be prefaced by a man’s reputation of a pristine caliber. Most would argue that Rowlandson took the necessary measures required of her position in order to publish her encounter with the Indians, but I would argue that Rowlandson was unique in her approach in the sense that she felt entitled to retell her story because of the level of significance of her father and husband. Personally I believe that Rowlandson is a unique twist to the female author. Yes, she was limited by her gender, yet she appeared to be fully prepared to use her male entourage as a justification even a motivation to write her story. There was less of an asking attitude from Rowlandson like we see with Wheatley and Bradstreet, rather she emerged with an assuming mind-set that lead her to write what she did. I commend the bravery and bold approach and I am amused by the witty way in which she concealed her ultimate intentions. |
"My Own Credit": Strategies of (E)Valuation in Mary Rowlandson`s Captivity Narrative
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Authority and Female Authorship in Colonial America
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When specifically looking at Anne Bradstreet’s writings, the reader may interpret her works of art two different ways. One being that she honestly does not see herself to be worthy of a large acknowledgement of praise for her writing, or rather in my opinion, I believe her to be utilizing the opportunity that writing has given her to shrewdly exploit the irony of how society views her literature. That is not to say that Bradstreet completely rejects her religious beliefs, in fact she speaks often of being humbled before the Lord, a trait that many Puritans sought after. Rather, Bradstreet desired to expand her reader’s understanding of God. By introducing topics of extreme passionate love for her husband and children, the struggles she faced when she lost her house, and the yearning desperation she had when thinking about leaving her family behind if she died was a very brave step to take in that time period. This idea seems foreign today, but during Bradstreet’s time, this was almost blasphemous by allowing her family to become what society defined as an idol in her life. Fear completely enveloped her reader’s minds when they were faced this contradiction to their way of life. It was completely unheard of to read literature by a woman who was actually addressing the struggles that they were attempting everyday to stifle. Her writing was dangerous to a society that was dictated and dominated by males who knew that educated women who thought for themselves and wrote about it were doomed to an immoral downfall. This way of thinking is what made it necessary for Bradstreet to have the support of prominent men that could vouch for her. There is no way to actually measure how much this restrained Bradstreet’s writing, but it laid the ground work for future women writers to build a powerhouse of intellect and imaginative literature. |
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The Body into Print: Marketing Phillis Wheatley
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Phillis Wheatley created something for the African American community that had long been shipped around like enslaved cattle, meant only to be beasts of burden, a means to an end, she created a voice. It stirs up emotions of respect and awe in those who really knew the impact of her writings especially in the face of so much adversity. Wheatley had to stand against three major prejudices in her time; she was a woman who was black and owned by a white man. No one believed that she had to ability much less the right to progress past her lot in life, to raise her status on the social ladder and improve her present life. Yet despite the odds Wheatley earned her manumissions through the power of her quill and paper. Many people believed her to lack the skill of a poet, even Thomas Jefferson spoke of the inability of black people to know true poetry outside the box of misery they dwelled in and specifically addressed Wheatley to be nothing more than a being on this earth completely devoid of any possibility of being a poet herself. She like many women authors needed the support of distinguished white supporters, which were mainly lead by men, to help cut through the red tape of society. Wheatley had a unique story of a first-hand experience of the effects and damages of slavery that needed to be read. Her accountants were often doubted due to the eloquence in which they were delivered to the general public because Wheatley defied the stereotype; she was a black woman who knew how to fastidiously address the issues of slavery through her words, her writing, and her thinking. Wheatley broke the mold, she opened a crack in the door that would later bust open for later generations; she made a difference. |
In conclusion, these pivotal women made a difference despite the obstacles society placed upon them. They laid down the foundation for future women writers to have an easier pathway to literary success. They flourished in their lifetimes and broke through the barriers. They became braver, they became crafty and they became powerful tools to be utilized in beating the regimented system. They were women who roared in the ears of society demanding acknowledgement of their extraordinary accomplishments. They became modern day role models and heros.
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