Captivity & Sentiment: Cultural Exchange in American Literature, 1682-1861

by Michelle Burnham

Examines how traditional dichotomies give way to emergent cultural forms in the literature of captivity.

211 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1997

Reviews

[Bruce]

Michelle Burnham has written a cogent analysis of the literature of captivity narratives and the early history of America. She posits that “by focusing on the affective relation of similarity between the captive and her audience, it [captivity literature:] obscures the complex exchanges between the captive and her alien captors.” For the first half to two-thirds of the book she uses Mary Rowlandson’s Narrative of the Captivity of Mary Rowlandson as the basis of her discussion. Brunham notes that the Calvinist predetermined beliefs that were so prevalent in Puritan New England affected the captives and thus the captivity narratives. The cross-cultural exchanges were either not recognized by the captives or were purposely obscured because of the desire to fit back into Colonial society (if they desired to and/or had to return). The treatment of women and their place in society was perhaps the primary difference between the Amerindian and “European” cultures. With the former being more woman friendly. Also of note is the difference between the first publication of Rowlandson’s book in the 1680s and the publication of the work in the Revolutionary Era. In the former she is the “Puritan goodwife,” in the later she is the start of the “Republican Mother.”
In the later part of the work, Burnham discusses slave narratives, which are also captivity narratives. In this book Burnham presents thought provoking ideas connecting literature and politics in the development of America.