Rework-Theme Essay: Captivity Narratives

Caitlin Lewis

Rework-Theme Essay: Captivity Narratives

24 September 2012

There are many interpretations and assumptions that can be made about captivity narratives as a theme in relation to art history. I think this theme can best be summarized and is found within works that demonstrate the confinement of a person, place, or thing. Occasionally the work may literally depict someone held against their will or other times it may be more about the capture of mind or spirit. An important aspect that determinessomethinghas a captivity narrative theme that we have discussed in class is the arrival of new people to the Americas. Some of these newcomers eventually disappeared or were captured by the Natives. The people were not exactly sure as to where they were arriving; it could have been a land of dreams or nightmares and the level of reality that the colonists had was unreasonable when arriving.This leads into importance of the captors’ motivations and into the writers who wrote about these topics. The captors were usually part of the subculture and the captives mainly came from an important main group. The main captors were the native Indians who were doing so for revenge, bargaining power, and population replacement. The writers were then motivated by the adventure and drama taking place which entertained, or could guide the readers with a new form of propaganda writing. Also, some of the books were simply diaries and direct personal experiences from captives. In some occasions the captivity narratives were reestablished by those who were not captives, but looking in on the situation from an outside viewpoint. The captivity narrative theme stemmed from the historical events about the British colonists arriving in the Americas. These people were coming from a foreign land and their experiences were very important and became the subject of many narratives.

One example of a captivity narrative that I found in the actual form of literature is the “Indian Stories of Virginia’s Last Frontier” by Luther F. Addington. The section of the book I focused on was about the capture and survival of Mary Ingles. I found this particularly interesting because it originated in the local area. Mary Ingles was captured by Indians, separated from her family and led hundreds of miles away from her home all the while surrounded by an unfamiliar culture and people. Mary’s story is most significant because it was not the usual captivity narrative in which the captives were all killed. Instead she survived and eventually escaped back to her family. Whilst she was with her captors she tells of how she had to maintain the focus that “being gentle with them might mean that her life would be spared” (Luther F. Addington, Indian Stories of Virginia’s Last Frontier, (Wise, VA: Historical Society of Southwest Virginia, 1966), 8). Also, she made sure to make herself a viable member in the native society. She did so by exemplifying traits that were useful to the Indians. For example, she was skillful with salt making and with creating the highly sought after checked shirts the natives were so fond of. Mary also kept up with her religious faith by praying that she would make it through her ordeal. Also immersing herself into the culture of the people she was captured by helped her stay alive and eventually make it out of her own personal captivity narrative alive.

Another important literature that expresses the captivity theme is the work of Mary Richardson. This gives a lengthy and very detailed description of her encounter with being held as a captive. I found it interesting that she was sosimilar to Mary Ingles by keeping up her religious faith; Mary Richardson was actually even more dedicated to her religion. This is apparent by the countless interjections of scriptures quoted and referenced throughout her story. Mary Richardson’s recollection of events during her capture gives a very interesting view into the society of her captors and tells exactly what she went through. She gives a much better understanding as to what kinds of detail and information are necessary in a written captivity narrative along with telling the story of her survival with the Indians.

Other than simply in literature the captivity theme also had a major influence on visual art. One example is the painting byJohn Vanderlyn, “The Murder of Jane McCrea.” As with the story of Mary Ingles and Mary Richardsons’ capture this work leaves emphasize on the female captive. Jane is the focus point of this painting as she struggles with her captors before meeting a fateful death at the hands of the Indians. Jane thought she was being led to her significant other, but was proved wrong. It is also very important to point out that in the painting the color scheme is very similar to that of the infamous Mary and Joseph paintings found in history. The signature blue that Jane is wearing and the red of her captors gives tell that this is more than just an average captivity narrative, and includes hints of a religious undertone. Unlike many other captivity themed artworks this was originally seen to illustrate British treachery, however, it became the foundation for captivity narrative art that came afterwards. This painting gives a very realisticview into the extreme emotion and fearfulness that occurred within captivity.

The story of Mary Ingles and “The Murder of Jane McCrea” were formed from completely different mediums, but they still have common points within. They all focus on emphasizing female captives andhave a religious undertone. Although, they had completely different results as we know Mary Ingles escaped her captors and arrived safely home, Jane McCrea however was led away to a horrible death she never expected.

As I have looked into the theme of captivity narratives I see it can be more than just an ordinary prisoner of war story. Instead the theme when expressed seems to be more about the story that is being told without words or exact image representation. A few questions that we can ask when dissecting these captivity narratives are who or what is the main focus. It could be literally the person held captive or it might be an outside source that is not literally represented in the narrative. Also, the religious role found within the narrative can be looked into and the significance is very important to question as well. As I have looked into these three examples of captivity narratives I found many intertwining details that are carried throughout and if further explored these thematic elements can likely be found in other works as well.

References

Addington, Luther F. Indian Stories of Virginia’s Last Frontier, Wise, VA: Historical Society of Southwest Virginia, 1966.

Rowlandson, Mary.Captivity and Restoration. Project Gutenberg, 2009.