Mary Rowlandson’s account of her captivity defends the religious awakenings in the New World by showing her firm religious beliefs, strength, and willingness to survive during her captivity. The Second Great Awakening brought religious beliefs and devotion back to life. There was a significant advancement in how women were treated and perceived. The mission of the awakening was to give women more status and purpose. This was most commonly seen in the Salem Witchcraft Trials (Reform Movements in 19th-Century America). In Rowlandson’s narrative, she spoke about her time in captivity, stating, “but God was with me in a wonderful manner, carrying me along, and bearing up my spirit, that it did not quite fail.” (Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration…show more content… Rowlandson’s willingness to survive was apparent in The Third Remove of her narrative, where she spoke about God, “I have thought since of the wonderful goodness of God to me in preserving me in the use of my reason and sense in that distressed time, that I did not use wicked and violent means to end my own miserable life.” (Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson). Although she lost her child, she never lost her hope of survival and always had God on her side. Her faith brought her immense support and guidance to survive and pushed her to keep on living through this tough time. “If one looked before one there was nothing but Indians, and behind one, nothing but Indians, and so on either hand, I myself in the midst, and no Christian soul near me, and yet how hath the Lord preserved me in safety? Oh the experience that I have had of the goodness of God, to me and mine!” (Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson). During times of weakness, Rowlandson turned to God and stayed true to her beliefs. She believed that no matter what she was going through, God was on her
